The JoZ
11-27-2004, 04:37 PM
I know what you might be thinking. "What? Another stupid -Core genre?" Well, normally I would agree. But to try and place Deadsy into a single genre is nigh impossible. Frontman P. Exeter Blue (aka Elijah Blue) coined the term to describe Deadsy's sound, which consists of an onslaught of droning synth, super-distorted guitars, and his trademark monotonous vocals. The band members have all adopted these weird personas which represent some form of society. Academia, Fear, Leisure, Medicine/Science and War, respectively. It's a bit weird, but take it with a grain of salt, I suppose.
The Band:
Philips Exeter Blue I. - Guitar, Vocals
Creature - Bass
Alec Pure - Drums/Percussion
Dr Nner - Keyboards
Carlton Megalodon - Z-Tar (Synth guitar)
The Songs:
This will be my first time not doing track-by-track, so bear with me.
The CD kicks off with what is easily the most accessable song on the album, "The Key to Gramercy Park". It's an up-tempo number with heavy distortion and weird sounds abound. They made a video for this, and I encourage anyone to watch it just once to see what these guys look like. Some people might be put off by some tiny guest vocals by Jon Davis, but honestly, it doesn't really effect the song too much. I wish they had more stuff like this song, to be honest, but they really don't.
The next couple of songs are mid-tempo, the oblique "Winners" which has some sort of unusual message attatched (as do most of the songs) and the somewhat inspiring, or at least positive "Brand New Love". Both of these songs are pretty accessable as well, but they are not nearly as rocking as the opening track. The synth definetly plays a larger role as the tracks go on, and the guitars are less and less prominant, usually only holding huge distorted chords here and there. "Brand New Love" does give a chance to actually hear the bass, which is often lost in a sea of distortion.
Only after the first three tracks, IMO, do you truely see what Deadsy are about. "Mansion World" is a strange number, with etherial synths, and electronic drums paving the way for Exeter's strange tale about a world where "On the Mansion World / The roles reverse / A slave becomes a master" He references Urantia once or twice in this song, and continues to do so in other songs. He claims to be very into alternate religions/ways of thinkings. Personally, I think he's just a bit nuts, but that's me. There's a small bit of a synth solo toward the end...nothing spectacular by any means, but a lead line of sorts.
The next four tracks are going to be very hard to listen to for the casual listener. "Lake Waramaug", "The Elements", "Flowing Glower" and "Future Years" are slow, droning numbers without any question. The former is the most up tempo of the four, the latter is one of the slowest on the CD. "Lake Waramaug" actually sees Exeter turn off the distortion for some clean guitar soloish stuff toward the end, which is a huge difference compared to his normal playing. All these songs definetly sound different, but they have a very samey quality to them, in being very slow, dirge-like numbers. Not nearly as slow as some doom metal bands might play, but very slow nonetheless.
Then, seemingly out of nowhere, they hit us with an 80's throwback of sorts. "She Likes Big Words" brings us back to an 80's pop song feel, but with distorted guitars. This is a fun, abstract song about the shallowness of a vain woman, it's fun to listen to, and will actually bring a little energy back into the mix. Nner definetly gets a workout in this song, with synths and keys doing all sorts of things. I can't help but think part of it, somewhere, is Carlton, but I don't know for sure. Following this, we go back towards plodding riffs...but this one drives a little more than previous tracks, with a great bassline in "Cruella".
Following those two, we get take a dark dive downward into misanthropy with "Seagulls" and "Le Cirque en Rose". These tracks are droning, no doubt, but they have a darker quality to them, almost evil, thanks to well-placed synth sounds and effects. Of course, monotonous vocals don't help...well, actually they do. "Le Cirque" has an evil circus feel to it, very...well I'm running out of adjectives here, but suffice to say you wouldn't want to take a youngster to this circus. "Le Cirque" is one of my favorite tracks, for having that inherently 'dark' quality to it, and being slightly uptempo too.
Arguably, the best track on the album might be their cover of the Rush classic, "Tom Sawyer". They keep it true to the original, but put their own touch on it, being the extra distortion and Exeter's vocals. The famous 'solo' spots, with the keys, the bass and even the fast drum break, all kept intact, and done well. They end it with the title track, "Commencement", which is without a doubt in my mind, the worst track on the album. It takes droning to a whole new level, and even Exeter's vocals get effected, which add to the...yeah. This song did not need to push five and a half minutes, it drags on way too much for my taste, even compared to earlier cuts which did alot of dragging.
So in summation, if you're into tons of droning, tons of distortion, often toneless vocals, and synth flying all over the place, pick this up. This is not a bad CD at all IMO, but it just will not appeal to everyone. The strong tracks are quite strong I think, but too many numbers are far too slow and plodding to appeal to many people I think. I give this a solid 3/5.
Recommended Tracks:
Key to Gramercy Park
Winners
Mansion World
Le Cirque en Rose
Tom Sawyer.
It was partially track by track, but not like I normally do it :thumb:
The Band:
Philips Exeter Blue I. - Guitar, Vocals
Creature - Bass
Alec Pure - Drums/Percussion
Dr Nner - Keyboards
Carlton Megalodon - Z-Tar (Synth guitar)
The Songs:
This will be my first time not doing track-by-track, so bear with me.
The CD kicks off with what is easily the most accessable song on the album, "The Key to Gramercy Park". It's an up-tempo number with heavy distortion and weird sounds abound. They made a video for this, and I encourage anyone to watch it just once to see what these guys look like. Some people might be put off by some tiny guest vocals by Jon Davis, but honestly, it doesn't really effect the song too much. I wish they had more stuff like this song, to be honest, but they really don't.
The next couple of songs are mid-tempo, the oblique "Winners" which has some sort of unusual message attatched (as do most of the songs) and the somewhat inspiring, or at least positive "Brand New Love". Both of these songs are pretty accessable as well, but they are not nearly as rocking as the opening track. The synth definetly plays a larger role as the tracks go on, and the guitars are less and less prominant, usually only holding huge distorted chords here and there. "Brand New Love" does give a chance to actually hear the bass, which is often lost in a sea of distortion.
Only after the first three tracks, IMO, do you truely see what Deadsy are about. "Mansion World" is a strange number, with etherial synths, and electronic drums paving the way for Exeter's strange tale about a world where "On the Mansion World / The roles reverse / A slave becomes a master" He references Urantia once or twice in this song, and continues to do so in other songs. He claims to be very into alternate religions/ways of thinkings. Personally, I think he's just a bit nuts, but that's me. There's a small bit of a synth solo toward the end...nothing spectacular by any means, but a lead line of sorts.
The next four tracks are going to be very hard to listen to for the casual listener. "Lake Waramaug", "The Elements", "Flowing Glower" and "Future Years" are slow, droning numbers without any question. The former is the most up tempo of the four, the latter is one of the slowest on the CD. "Lake Waramaug" actually sees Exeter turn off the distortion for some clean guitar soloish stuff toward the end, which is a huge difference compared to his normal playing. All these songs definetly sound different, but they have a very samey quality to them, in being very slow, dirge-like numbers. Not nearly as slow as some doom metal bands might play, but very slow nonetheless.
Then, seemingly out of nowhere, they hit us with an 80's throwback of sorts. "She Likes Big Words" brings us back to an 80's pop song feel, but with distorted guitars. This is a fun, abstract song about the shallowness of a vain woman, it's fun to listen to, and will actually bring a little energy back into the mix. Nner definetly gets a workout in this song, with synths and keys doing all sorts of things. I can't help but think part of it, somewhere, is Carlton, but I don't know for sure. Following this, we go back towards plodding riffs...but this one drives a little more than previous tracks, with a great bassline in "Cruella".
Following those two, we get take a dark dive downward into misanthropy with "Seagulls" and "Le Cirque en Rose". These tracks are droning, no doubt, but they have a darker quality to them, almost evil, thanks to well-placed synth sounds and effects. Of course, monotonous vocals don't help...well, actually they do. "Le Cirque" has an evil circus feel to it, very...well I'm running out of adjectives here, but suffice to say you wouldn't want to take a youngster to this circus. "Le Cirque" is one of my favorite tracks, for having that inherently 'dark' quality to it, and being slightly uptempo too.
Arguably, the best track on the album might be their cover of the Rush classic, "Tom Sawyer". They keep it true to the original, but put their own touch on it, being the extra distortion and Exeter's vocals. The famous 'solo' spots, with the keys, the bass and even the fast drum break, all kept intact, and done well. They end it with the title track, "Commencement", which is without a doubt in my mind, the worst track on the album. It takes droning to a whole new level, and even Exeter's vocals get effected, which add to the...yeah. This song did not need to push five and a half minutes, it drags on way too much for my taste, even compared to earlier cuts which did alot of dragging.
So in summation, if you're into tons of droning, tons of distortion, often toneless vocals, and synth flying all over the place, pick this up. This is not a bad CD at all IMO, but it just will not appeal to everyone. The strong tracks are quite strong I think, but too many numbers are far too slow and plodding to appeal to many people I think. I give this a solid 3/5.
Recommended Tracks:
Key to Gramercy Park
Winners
Mansion World
Le Cirque en Rose
Tom Sawyer.
It was partially track by track, but not like I normally do it :thumb: