Review Summary: Post-Hardcore-Schnitzel
Austria is known for many great musicians in varying genres. Classic? Mozart and Liszt spring to mind. Pop? Falco made a worldwide impact with his furious songs and eccentric behaviour while Udo Jürgens wooed many women with his charm and soft ballads. Folk? The nation's most popular contemporary musicians stem from its folk scene with artists like Hansi Hinterseer gathering thousands of old and bewildered people just to follow him up a steep mountain for some bread, water and
Amore Mio. Post-Hardcore? … . I repeat: Post Hardcore? No, nothing.
Until Cameran hit the scene 2005 with their acclaimed debut A Caesarean. The producer responsible was none other than Pelle Henricsson and it comes to no surprise that fans of the old greats Refused and At The Drive-In will feel right at home. You have to look no further than opener
The Zombie Walk for your first serving of pure hard rocking bliss. While the bass gets you grooving the first fifty seconds, it's the one-minute-mark that's a shining example of things to come. The drums accelerate, the guitars soar higher and come crashing down in a relentlessly attacking riff and vocalist Aren states his imaginative lyrics with megaphone-like shouting. Cameran are full of energy and not at all shy to show that. They are fast, aggressive and urge you to feel the same. But they are a far cry from being labelled a one-trick-pony. After going full throttle for the majority of the first three songs they surprise us with the atmospheric instrumental
Headphone Music OP 001 that strays away from basic instrumentation and includes some melancholic strings. And the lovely piano sadness of
Tu Es Monono followed by the epic
A Million Years Now, that features female vocals, Croatian spoken words and some of the best guitar work to be found on the album, are final testament to the variety and feel for flow that Cameran showcase throughout the entire forty-three minutes of playtime.
Did they revolutionise Post-Hardcore? Probably not. But Cameran did create nine songs full of energy that fare pretty well even by today's standards and manage to stick out with their unbelievable groove and wide array of different emotions. With all the potential shown it is pretty sad to see them already gone after their first and final LP. At least A Caesarean will go down in history as one of the finest Austrian Post-Hardcore records of the early millennium and is worth a listen for everyone interested in the genre.
