The Breathing Process Odyssey: (Un)DEAD
by Jorden Rex
Staff Writer
This is an odd album. At first blush it feels very much like a Death Metal album, but quickly morphs into something tinged with a Cradle of Filth-esque feel, and then back to straight Death Metal. But then you notice that the keyboards are still playing, so it’s not real Death Metal, but not real Black Metal either. Then the keyboards change their tone to something like that which you’d hear in a ’70’s classic rock band looking for a futuristic sound, while still keeping the Death and Black Metal vocals. It’s hard to pin down. It’s very odd.
Or at least it is odd at first. After a bit you get used to the fact that The Breathing Process likes to be all over the place stylistically, and Odyssey (Un)Dead becomes a little less interesting. The low points come when they introduce the clean female vocals, which is unfortunately in almost half of the songs on this album. To their credit, at least they didn’t have one of the males trying to sing clean and high like the victim of a botched gelding (like oh-so-many bands today that feel like they need to show that they have a sensitive side). However, the female vocals just make them sound like they’re trying to get on the radio by emulating Evanessence.
Nikolas Tormentahl has an explosive double bass technique that could easily have been over-used. He is very fast with his feet, but won’t show it for very long periods of time, and will occasionally let it out in short bursts, like semi-automatic machine gun fire. The fact that he can show some restraint with the extreme beats makes them stand out more when he does let loose.
The guitar work is equally restrained. There are times when they are showing off with tech-Death style riffs, but it is not very often. They spent more time making sure that the riffs are at least reasonably catchy and blend well with the keys, so when they do show off you actually notice and appreciate it.
As mentioned before, the keys have an interesting tone. Most of the time, they are normal Black Metal style, orchestral sounding keys. Occasionally it’s a clean piano sound. And then there’s the strange, pseudo-futuristic retro tone that has some sort of…something… added to it. Wah, maybe? Like the style of the band in general, it’s hard to pin down. But it always seems to fit, strange though it may be.
The high points of Odyssey (Un)Dead are the three songs that comprise the third quarter of the album: “Metamorphosis,” “Hordes,” and “The Living Forest (Part I).” “Metamorphosis” starts with an interesting riff that sounds like a drum beat, but turns out to be great guitar work over a well-matched but simple double bass and snare beat. “Hordes” has a number of breakdowns that play two instruments with each other without just being a series of pauses trying to make the song heavier. The first is a piano refrain with a clean guitar playing a simple melody over it. The second is drum and bass playing off each other. There is also a descending double-lead section that just oozes anger. Finally, “The Living Forest (Part I)” just sounds like plain old good Old Man’s Child/Dimmu Borgir-style Black Metal, before delving into a little Meshuggah-style chunk section at the end. And none of the three aforementioned songs succumbs to the temptation of using the clean female vocals during the chorus!
So, The Breathing Process has a wide range of styles and talents, which can work for or against them. People might be upset that it is not purely one style, or they might be intrigued by the mix. If you can get past some of the peculiarities it might be worth picking up and having a listen. But, certainly, they need to drop the clean female vocals. It sounds like pandering for air-time, and it’s irritating.
Band Line-up:
John Lefreniere – Vocals
Jordan Milner – Guitar/Vocals
Sara Loerlein – Guitar/Vocals
Julian Parker – Bass
Jared Sloan – Keys/Synth
Nikolas Tormentahl – Drums
Track Listing:
1. Hours
2. Grimoire
3. Leveller
4. Vulture(s)
5. Pantheon Unravelling
6. Odyssey (Un)Dead
7. Starless: Eternal
8. Metamorphosis
9. Hordes
10. The Living Forest (Part I)
11. Wind Ritual
12. The Opaque Forest (Part II)
13. Decaying Form
Label: Candlelight Records
Hardrock Haven rating: 5/10