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Acumen Nation graces us with Anticore, another inventive genre twist of things that should just fall under MySpace metal. They succeed with mixed results, and if this is what “anticore” is all about, I am not sure it is an improvement over metalcore. The quick riffing, beat-heavy style takes from industrial metal, hardcore, hip-hop and electro, the route Andy Warhol might take if he was into metal. This amalgamation works reasonably well for a little while at the beginning of the disc, but by the time you have made it through all 15 tracks, including the five 5+ minute ones, you will be tired of it (by the end, I found myself reaching for the nearest Unearth cd. After all, if you're going to listen to a “core”...). In this era of ProTools, I expect some electronic samples here and there, but this band takes it to another level. Electronic samples, including the 'ol Stephen Hawking impersonation, are everywhere. These tricks can only be employed so many times before they start to detract from the music, and that is what happens here. Most promising moments are negated by trying to cram too much into each song.
The disc is not all bad though. There are certainly moments of promise as well as lots and lots of energy. If the disc was just the first six songs, it would be a refreshing EP. The first song grabbed me with its stop-start riffing, and in “Black Son Hole” (a shot at Soundgarden?), the vocalist takes a break from his synthesized yelp to a style that sounds like Billy Corgan filtered through a synthesizer.
If Rammstein were to lighten up a little, they might sound something like this. Do not expect technicality, prepare for some asinine lyrics, and consume in small doses.
| Tracklist |
| 1. Bliss |
| 2. Blind Pig |
| 3. Day Care |
| 4. Black Son Hole |
| 5. My Lifes Last Breath |
| 6. Tools in the Blood Shed |
| 7. Branch Davidian Style |
| 8. Caustic Perimeter |
| 9. No Arms No Legs |
| 10. Jesus Loves You |
| 11. P.O.D.O.A. |
| 12. Haliburton Rape Trial |
| 13. Destroyssaurus |
| 14. Polhemic |
| 15. Message from the Grave |
: 60:00
| Buy other Acumen Nation albums |
