Review Summary: A captivating, almost perfect blend of atmospheric, electronic effects built around a basic heavy metal sound to create a jaw-dropping masterpiece of a concept album.
Very rarely will I find myself able to sit through an entire album in one sitting without becoming somewhat bored of the music (regardless of how good the album is), wanting to listen to something else. However, I will occasionally stumble across an album that I find myself listening to over and over again in its entirety. I found this was the case with Frightmare's
Bringing Back The Bloodshed and Municipal Waste's
Hazardous Mutation, but never have I come across an album as captivating as Ewigkeit's final masterpiece,
Conspiritus.
The sound that encompasses
Conspiritus is hard to classify, and can best be described as experimental, electronically-driven ambient metal, without venturing into the realm of industrial. The utilization of electronic effects and samples make them a staple in the creation of the atmosphere that the album possesses, as listeners are swept away into a distant, dystopian future, plagued by government conspiracy and oppression, reinforced by means of mass surveillance. While the synthesizers may come off as cheesy and seventies-sounding, they quickly become a key part of the uniqueness of Ewigkeit's sound, along with the trance effects and the heavily-used samples that make up
Conspiritus' futuristic vibe.
One should not mistake
Conspiritus as just another electronic album though. As a matter of fact, this album is far from it. The catchy electronic effects are utilized and built around a basic heavy metal sound that serves as the core of
Conspiritus. While the instrumentation may border the edge of hard rock, and is certainly not as heavy as Devourment, it still remains powerful as any Iron Maiden album and as epic as any one of Ensiferum's works.
Of course, there isn't an album in the world that doesn't have its flaws, whether it be filler material or simply bland music. While
Conspiritus doesn't necessarily fall to these two crippling characteristics, it does falter in a few different categories. Lyrics-wise,
Conspiritus falls somewhat short, seeing as how James Fogarty cannot seem to stop preaching about "the truth" and "reality". Yes, this is a concept album, but at the same time it isn't
Black Sails At Midnight, so a little more variation in the lyrics would be nice. Same thing goes with the guitar work. The strumming pattern used by Fogarty works really well with the electronic influences, but it seems to be the only thing that he's capable of. I found myself hard-pressed to find any riffs or solos on the album, except for
It's Not Reality and
The Nightmare Institution. The album seems to be too short as well, clocking in at a measly 46 minutes. This wouldn't be such a concern if Ewigkeit's sound wasn't so captivating. It leaves a similar feeling to that of watching an exhilarating movie that's brought down only by its short length.
Despite
Conspiritus' lows, however, this album manages to be incredibly intriguing, filled with atmospheric, image-inducing music that is sure to leave listeners wanting much more, especially since Fogarty's new project, The Bombs of Enduring Freedom, cannot seem to live up to the standards that
Conspiritus created when it was released back in 2005. While most people will put off electronic and metal fused into one sound as stale and boring, they should by no means overlook this album, as it provides a surprisingly well-done effort that successfully blends two very distant genres into one incredibly captivating sound that is sure to satisfy those in search of a sound in a genre of its own.
