Illogicist Subjected
Crash Music 2004
By Adam McAuley
Illogicist are a slightly left-field progressive death metal band in the vein of Sceptic or Cynic. They separate themselves from those two bands, and several others, by playing incredibly odd time signatures and even more difficult to assimilate music. The fretwork exercises the group partake in may also find a home for fans of neo-progressive metal or any other genre that involves a lot of technicality. And like any of the above, Illogicist are often hit or miss.
At times, it seems like they drift into nonsensical riffs with little structure or point, but when things makes sense, theyre very effective. These are often either when sublime solos overlap the underlying rhythm, or when a main riff is repeated, something which doesnt happen often in these labyrinths. Shifting and mutating song structures are initially appealing, but begin to become a bit tedious after some listening, so Id recommend this to only the most patient of listeners, or those that are intrigued by overt technicality.
The bassist Emilio Dattolo is commendable and does nimble and compelling work underneath the musical chaos. Track 5, Dissonant Perspectives is an example of this youll hear his fine work in the forefront. Luca Minieri does the typical progressive death vocals. If youve heard the likes of Atheist, you should have a good idea of what to expect here. Again, the odd, disjointed riffs of Illogicist are their main appeal.
If ingenuity and abstraction interest you, Subjected is a worthwhile endeavor. By no means a genre-defining band, the outfit are nonetheless effective at performing their take on death metal, and should be checked out by all progressive and death metal fans, be it of each genre separately or together in unison.
7/10
Official Crash Music website
Official Illogicist website
Crash Music 2004
By Adam McAuley
Illogicist are a slightly left-field progressive death metal band in the vein of Sceptic or Cynic. They separate themselves from those two bands, and several others, by playing incredibly odd time signatures and even more difficult to assimilate music. The fretwork exercises the group partake in may also find a home for fans of neo-progressive metal or any other genre that involves a lot of technicality. And like any of the above, Illogicist are often hit or miss.
At times, it seems like they drift into nonsensical riffs with little structure or point, but when things makes sense, theyre very effective. These are often either when sublime solos overlap the underlying rhythm, or when a main riff is repeated, something which doesnt happen often in these labyrinths. Shifting and mutating song structures are initially appealing, but begin to become a bit tedious after some listening, so Id recommend this to only the most patient of listeners, or those that are intrigued by overt technicality.
The bassist Emilio Dattolo is commendable and does nimble and compelling work underneath the musical chaos. Track 5, Dissonant Perspectives is an example of this youll hear his fine work in the forefront. Luca Minieri does the typical progressive death vocals. If youve heard the likes of Atheist, you should have a good idea of what to expect here. Again, the odd, disjointed riffs of Illogicist are their main appeal.
If ingenuity and abstraction interest you, Subjected is a worthwhile endeavor. By no means a genre-defining band, the outfit are nonetheless effective at performing their take on death metal, and should be checked out by all progressive and death metal fans, be it of each genre separately or together in unison.
7/10
Official Crash Music website
Official Illogicist website
