Album Rating: 2.0

Phew, opener is terrible

Album Rating: 4.0

I'm honestly liking this a lot more than Underneath.

Album Rating: 4.0

First impressions of each song.



Never Far Apart: cool/interesting intro and I actually dig the parts with Reba and the piano. Enjoying the riffs and heavy parts in the second half.



Theater Of Cruelty: the dramatic synth kinda bugs me in this song but the heavy/chuggy parts are fun. This one feels like it has a lot of parts that would lead to something better but never do.



Take Shape: definitely one of my favorites on the album. Reminds me of The Big Come Down by NIN if remixed by CO. Both verse/chorus are strong and catchy.



The Mask Of Sanity Slips: solid song. I enjoy the first half a lot. The middle kinda drags but I dig the way the synths are integrated into the outro of the song.



Mirror: didn't really like this one at first, but now it's one of my favorites on the album. This is CO experimenting and branching out in the right way. It doesn't sound as forced as some of the other songs on here.



A Drone Opting Out Of The Hive: intro riffs sounds like Jesus Piece to me. This sounds like it would fit perfectly on Underneath. The bass groove/spoken words part building up to the explosive chorus with the synths works really well for me. TDS-era NIN vibes in a good way.



I Fly: this one reminds me vaguely of Bleeding In The Blur which is always a positive. Sounds a little bit like a WWE intro song but I still f with it. Contagious energy throughout and one of the better songs on the album.

Album Rating: 4.0





Splinter The Soul: dig the guitar tones on this one and pacing. Feels like an old-school nu metal song that Korn would put out. Everything connects well in this one.



The Game: probably the most straightforward song on the whole album. Simple but fun. Sometimes there doesn't need to be an experimental/avant garde section.



Grooming My Replacement: finally some straight up caveman riffing. This is probably the most banger song on the album and definitely should be one of the songs on this album that is played live regularly.



Snapshot: I was intrigued with the aggressive percussion and electronic stuff going on but it gets kinda annoying fast. There is good stuff in the song but there is too much negative to call it one of the better songs on the album.



Circle Through: This feels like a better version of the previous song. This time the electronics and choices made all lead to a more satisfying experience.



But A Dream; This one reminds me of Who I Am off of Underneath. Reba's vocals sound really great on here and the song is well-crafted in all elements.



The Above: Feels like a weak closer to me. They try to do too much in a four minute song. At least it ends on a more upbeat sounding note.



Overall, I can already tell it's starting to grown on me. Definitely could have cut 3 or so songs and made it a lot tighter but it's still interesting to hear all of the songs. Some of the things I didn't like at first are starting to click. It'll be interesting to see which songs on here they play live.

Yeah this is like… not good.
Most excellent review sir

Album Rating: 2.2 | Sound Off

great read Ben, "Juggling more balls than you have hands isn't always a good idea" is big lolz



this is bad but generic bad, while their last one was (to me) experimental bad. not sure which one is worse tbh

Album Rating: 2.0

Lol cheers gang



Already love the rating chart bring the discourse and dissent LETS ARGUE

Album Rating: 2.0

Also I think I would’ve been less mildly irked by this if the band’s marketing matched the content. If they were like “ye we just really fucking like Korn” and open/honest with the fact this is more of a tribute LP than it is a bold step forward for their genre/band, id probably be cool with that. Not that they’re probs given full steer over how their label markets things, but still.

Album Rating: 4.0

this sounds as awesome as it does stupid and makes me giggle : )

Album Rating: 2.0

yeah, this is not good.

Album Rating: 2.0

take shape sounds like a perfect circle track though, which is cool

Album Rating: 2.5

What the fuck happened to this band? The only thing that is keeping this album from a 2 for me atm is Grooming My Replacement which might be one of their best songs.

Album Rating: 2.5

Definitely going to listen to the new Hirsch Effekt now so my ears can recover.

Album Rating: 3.0

Bands been ass for years

Album Rating: 2.5

I remember Underneath being amazing but that may have been because I was 15 when it was released.

Album Rating: 3.0

god I’m old as shit

Album Rating: 2.0

someone on this site quoted the lyrics in take shape's chorus as "spread your wangs" and I giggle way too hard when I hear it now

Album Rating: 2.5

Saying only "It's bad/this sucks" doesn't give this the attention it deserves. They obviously worked very hard on crafting a vision, which I appreciate. Unfortunately, almost nothing in this album sticks the landing. It's such a mess. I don't think "no" was used much in the production phase of this record and it shows.



They're clearly going for more of a industrial/grunge sound, but what made bands successful in that genre was a solid foundation of structure and a good ear for melody, which this band has done before, but they just couldn't figure it out here. This is a very puzzling direction for them, and while I'm interested in hearing the next album, it's very damning when the reflexive reaction to an album on release day is "...but the next one is gonna be great"

“ someone on this site quoted the lyrics in take shape's chorus as "spread your wangs" and I giggle way too hard when I hear it now”

Lmao

Album Rating: 2.0

Mirror has some super awkward lyrics and phrasing. This doesn't bode well.