Review Summary: WHAT THE F**K IS THE MATTER WITH YOU?
Ion Dissonance are a band that I've followed since shorty after their first LP, Breathing is Irrelevant. Back around that time, they struck my attention for their dark, spastic approach to heavy music, much in the vein of the Dillinger Escape Plan. It was also nice to see a fellow Canadian band represent the dun-wee of the North. They're technical dissonance was lauded by critics, and they showed huge potential for relevance in a style of music that didn't seem to show much chance for survival outside of the underground. Minus the Herd was a misstep in my opinion, but having a soft spot for a-melodic music that consists of many screeches, I've naturally always found some enjoyment in their spastic musical
constructions.
Cut to present day, and its been a few months since the release of their latest CD, Cursed. After a couple months of listening and taking their past works into consideration, I feel that Cursed is definitely Ion Dissonance's most interesting CD since Breathing..., if not for its musical value but for what it represents for the band: indifference. This indifference surrounds almost every aspect of the Cursed. The lyrics spout hatred and anger, usually aimed at a scene that doesn't seem to be giving them back what they want from it, but their delivery always seems to lack seriousness and even veers into
tough-guy brocore complete with Emmurisms like "punk ass chump!" and "grab my nine im gunna waste you quick!". Really, Ion?
Musically, there is quite a bit to love on Cursed. The production is gritty, the mixing is dirty and layered. Instrumentally, every member is in top form. The rhythm section is outstanding, and guitarists Antoine and Sebastian conceive some of their best riffs on parts of Cursed. There are even a few songs that fit the spastic and hardcore riffs together fairly very cohesively. Nevertheless, many of the songs' stuttered riffs sound too reminiscent of other in previous songs. There's a few ideas here that are done about 5 times, but only once or twice very effectively. This inconsistency, which likely stems from their indifference, is Cursed's biggest fault. About half this album is excellent, whereas the other half shows potential amidst some interesting production but ultimately comes up short of any worthwhile songs. These scatter shot lyrical decisions, along with the similarly scatter shot riffs and song structures are a bit puzzling. There is no doubt that the production, mixing and instrumentation is all top notch here, but the tendency of Cursed's songwriting to fall victim to the same pitfalls of the very scene it revolts against leaves room for question. Ion Dissonance seem to be having fun with their anger and are coming to terms with the lack of attention they have received in the ***storm that is the modern day metal scene. But too often they seem to knowingly sell them self short. Their anger, indifference and even confusion are all too evident on Cursed, and they fail to channel it as effectively as they have before. But hell, can you really blame them?
