Norwegian trio Communic returns with the follow-up to their head-turning 2005 debut, Conspiracy In Mind. This year’s release is called Waves Of Visual Decay, and offers 7 compositions scattered across no less than 99 tracks!
The Music
The multiple track division of each song reveals no apparent purpose, rather than leaving the listener sore-fingered when skipping from one song to another. That aside, Communic picks up where they left off and serve pretty hard-hitting, yet melodic and dynamic, Metal with Progressive hints. The songs are generously colored in many layers of Oddleif Stensland’s capable voice, while maneuvering through some of the darker sides of life.
Communic has cleverly taken the diversified input of each member and created an expression of their own. Considering the overall hard and heavy sound, and the dark, angry lyrics, comparisons cam easily be made to other bands, but they do manage to develop their own identity.
Among the 7 songs, “Watching It All Disappear” and “Waves Of Visual Decay” stand out for their vocal diversity and good sense of melody, respectively. Worth mentioning too is “Fooled By The Serpent” for its moments of outstanding melody.
The Band
Still a trio, the band has received valuable help from friend and keyboard player Endre Kirkesola. His contributions are subtle and more of a “filling” than a “founding” character. Supposedly, this is in order to enable a “trio only” live performance of the material without degrading the original sound of the compositions.
As for the trio, singer and guitarist Oddleif Stensland is a mighty impressive performer. His voice is sometimes high, sometimes low, adding vital dynamics to songs that are sometimes a bit static. His guitar is richly layered and follows the creative drumming of Tor Atle Andersen with an appropriate lag, generating sufficient groove throughout the album. Completing the line-up is Erik Mortensen, who handles the bass with insight and confidence, creating a sound with influences from both traditional bass and electric guitar.
The Verdict
This album hits you in the face as the riffs are shot out and the vocals take off towards a seemingly emotional abyss. It might take a few spins to sit properly, but the patient listener is rewarded. Yet, the album might lack character or distinction enough to peak and the risk is that it’s forgotten once archived on your shelf.
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