Review Summary: Communic shows up in the metal scene delivering an excellent record, showing great songwriting skills.
Communic´s 2005 debut already shows that this is no ordinary band. Forget about all the progressive metal clichés like ridiculously long and boring songs containing some weird stuff like a saxophone solo just for the sake of being prog. This is straigthforward heavy metal, with aggressive guitar riffs, powerful drums, amazing tempo changes and even a power metal vibe, thanks to guitarist and vocalist Oddleif Stensland high-pitched vocals.
The title track opens the show on full power, showcasing everything the record has to offer. Right off the bat we get a crushing riff that is later accompanied by Stensland´s amazing vocals. The song progresses, delivering nice tempo changes, from the aggressive riffs to the calm and clean guitar sections, and even providing some kind of breakdown, with a groovy riff accompanied by the drums, until it picks up the song again. The solos also appear here and there, but it´s nothing amazingly technical. Its job is purely adding to the flow of the music.
I could keep describing the songs over and over, but that´s not the point . No song, section or chorus is more important than anything here. Instead, the band makes sure the flow of the songs is on top of everything. Each song flows nicely, often switching between tempos and showing diversity all the way through, providing an enjoyable listen and not tiring the listener with the same riff being played five minutes straight. Songwriting my friends, these guys got it.
The production and the instrumental are top notch, considering it´s a debut. Each instrument can be heard clearly, and merges with each other perfectly. The guitar on top , always leading the songs, along with the drums, which provides a solid complement. The bass, whilst not being overly technical or having many moments to appear, is a crucial element in the mix, providing nice fills that will make you not even notice that there is one guitar missing.
Even tough the record doesn´t have many flaws, it´s not something you may find yourself listening to all day. Yeah, the production is good and the songwriting is amazing, but still it isn´t much memorable, lacking a somewhat ``epic element´´ that may motivate someone to listen to this often. Communic would later improve on this particular spot and reach their peak with `Waves of Visual Decay´, producing a memorable piece of songwriting and instrumental skill. Still, it´s clear that the basic formula was right here, with their debut `Conspiracy In Mind´.
