Review Summary: While it may not be the greatest release in the metal scene, Sybreed manages to bring a duffle bag of new material to the table, and make it into something great.
Just as the hardcore scene does, industrial metal seems to have hundreds of seemingly useless subgenres with very few groups actually managing to separate themselves from the millions of clones.
Antares kicks off with
Emma-0, and while it may not be their strongest track, it does show off a lot of what Sybreed has to offer. And what Sybreed has to offer is a mix of almost machine-like screams, keyboards, double kicks, blast beats, catchy riffs, harmonized vocals, and periodic synth use which all works itself into a package of futuristic 'cyber metal' that you won't soon forget. There is a noticeable influence from Fear Factory and Mnemic as the album goes on. In fact, Sybreed could be considered the bastard son of those two and an unnamed 3rd party, because that's now possible for the sake of this comparison. Sybreed does separate themselves from most industrial groups in that they don't focus on being harsh and abrasive so much as they focus on being able to seamlessly mix a cold and mechanical scream with a section of singing that sounds anything but gimmicky. The second and third tracks of the album,
Ego Bypass Generator, and
Revive My Wounds continue to build up on the signature Sybreed sound by adding even heavier beats, more chaos, and whatever they need to do to build on the cyber metal sound that Slave Design introduced us to.
Ex-Inferis, the one instrumental track on the album, really manages to break the monotony(not that there is any, it's just a breath of fresh air in that it isn't heavy at all) comes in with some heavily synthesized noises, followed by Dirk Verbeuren(drums) adding to the futuristic feel of the song. Right as the track ends, we're thrown right back into the cyber metal part of the album with
Permafrost. Heavy beats, chugging guitars, and even heavier bass all lead up to Benjamin screaming at the top of his lungs, however cliched it may be, it sets the mood perfectly for the rest of the album, but ultimately fails, as the remaining 3 songs seem to come up weak in comparison to the first half. Is it because they're the longest on the album? Maybe. Is it because the first half was just all around better? Possibly. All that can be said is that your hopes get built up, and are slowly crushed as the album goes out and slows down almost immediately and starts to sound like a doom metal release.
Even with the unique sound that the album has,
Antares does have its problems. The lyrics are incredibly sappy during most tracks, an example being the first two lines in
Ego Bypass Generator
"I'm not a redeemer, I'm not another saviour
Don't want to save your world, I would rather make it burn in flames"
Sounds like something you'd read off of that poem the little 13 year old 'scenemo' kid who sat right next to you in 9th grade wrote, doesn't it? On top of that, even though the the guitar goes well with the music, they seem like a big splash of deja-vu at a few points of the album, as you begin recalling previous industrial bands who you could have sworn wrote exactly what you're listening to.
In the end though, the positives outweigh the negatives, and show that it's possible to put out a refreshing release in any dying genre of music, no matter how many useless subgenres filled with clones-who-somehow-continue-to-get-record-deals it has.
