Inactive Messiah Inactive Messiah
Black Lotus Records BLRCD079 November 30th, 2004
By Jason Jordan
Everyones familiar with the hot/cold dichotomy, as are Grecians Inactive Messiah. The death metallers debut Inactive Messiah is apparently structured around the principles of that same dichotomy. In other words, this album contains both abysmal material and its polar opposite. And, spending gains ill gotten or not on this band isnt something Id advise, even if your appetite for new music is voracious.
Inactive Messiah is about forty-five minutes time-wise, and the compositions touch on a variety of latent influences. One of the riffs from T.C.D.D. could transition into Liquid Tension Experiments Acid Rain at any time, while Hate in Me stares defiantly at Soul Embraced. Mind Trap is the absolute worst song on the disc; the chorus is awful, and exposes Inactive Messiahs weaknesses without much effort. Thankfully, the record does begin to improve in quality with the middles advent. Blossom of Paranoia has a nice guitar lead overtop the instrumentation, though Tell Me One Reason fails to distance itself from its predecessor. The chuckle-garnering Shut the Fuck Up is actually fairly good as well, and the melodiousness of Back to Life/Memories breathes new life into Inactive Messiah. The closer namely Marble Smiling Face is perhaps less awe-inspiring than the caboose of an album should be.
Whatever fate holds in store for Inactive Messiah, their initiation into death metal wont etch a slot in the masterpieces section, but the album houses some worthwhile moments. Also, as an added bonus, an enhanced disc plays companion to the audio CD, which holds multimedia material just waiting to be unwrapped by the rabid fan or even the casual observer. Im mostly apathetic about it, though.
7/10
Official Inactive Messiah Website
Official Black Lotus Records Website
Black Lotus Records BLRCD079 November 30th, 2004
By Jason Jordan
Everyones familiar with the hot/cold dichotomy, as are Grecians Inactive Messiah. The death metallers debut Inactive Messiah is apparently structured around the principles of that same dichotomy. In other words, this album contains both abysmal material and its polar opposite. And, spending gains ill gotten or not on this band isnt something Id advise, even if your appetite for new music is voracious.
Inactive Messiah is about forty-five minutes time-wise, and the compositions touch on a variety of latent influences. One of the riffs from T.C.D.D. could transition into Liquid Tension Experiments Acid Rain at any time, while Hate in Me stares defiantly at Soul Embraced. Mind Trap is the absolute worst song on the disc; the chorus is awful, and exposes Inactive Messiahs weaknesses without much effort. Thankfully, the record does begin to improve in quality with the middles advent. Blossom of Paranoia has a nice guitar lead overtop the instrumentation, though Tell Me One Reason fails to distance itself from its predecessor. The chuckle-garnering Shut the Fuck Up is actually fairly good as well, and the melodiousness of Back to Life/Memories breathes new life into Inactive Messiah. The closer namely Marble Smiling Face is perhaps less awe-inspiring than the caboose of an album should be.
Whatever fate holds in store for Inactive Messiah, their initiation into death metal wont etch a slot in the masterpieces section, but the album houses some worthwhile moments. Also, as an added bonus, an enhanced disc plays companion to the audio CD, which holds multimedia material just waiting to be unwrapped by the rabid fan or even the casual observer. Im mostly apathetic about it, though.
7/10
Official Inactive Messiah Website
Official Black Lotus Records Website
