Selfmindead
s/t
Scandinavia is going to take over the world through their hardcore / emo. Another great release from Solid State and from Sweden. This release is a modern metal guitar album with singing hardcore and lots of cymbals. Lots of time changes, pauses, feedback, and speed. Fitting well in the Solid State family, Selfmindead is similar to the likes of Embodyment or Blindside. This is melody through complexity. The vocals are an easy win. Not the high pitch and not the growl. They fall between the two— very hardcore, while retaining a singing quality. Passionate and genuine with quick speaking / singing and the drawn–out yells. Technical music, which is the kind of hardcore that was born out of the passing of old school metal and hardcore. While a pleasant marriage, this formula may grow weary. But, until then we should all subscribe to the incredible metal–core which seems to be taking us into the next millennium.
This self–titled work is a bit redundant, but every song is strong, making the CD an entire album. There is something to say about a record you can enjoy all the way through. Selfmindead's strength is not in the diversity of sound or in diversity of songs, but in its repetition of excellent musicianship. It brings the entire album together. Easy listening (in a way), with gorgeous, nice touches. This is the art of blending thousands of junctions and tones and changes.
Breakdown: some hip hop a la Rage Against the Machine, and Blindside ("Three")."Nothing Inside" starts out sounding like a beefy Outer Circle song, but then changes into kind of a Within song. The last track,"Racket," is very cool, but seems to end prematurely. Lyrics throughout are extremely thought– provoking, rich, and intense. These songs first came out in 1997 on Soulscape Records, a Swedish label which has also worked with Royal. This is a solid album. Extremely well recorded, performed, and put together. Selfmindead wins another battle in this world domination. Onward Scandinavia!
[Solid State/ BM]
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