The Agonist Lullabies for the Dormant Mind
by Matt Hoffman
Staff Writer
Formed in 2004 in Quebec metal-core band The Agonist has returned with a new full length CD out now on Century Media. It is entitled Lullabies for the Dormant Mind and has 11 cuts lasting an entertaining 43 minutes. The petite extremely sexy lead singer Alissa White-Gluz projects vile and vicious vocals as well an angelic ones on this CD.
Cool soloing on “Globus Hystericus” highlights the solid work of the axe play by Danny Marino and Chris Adolph. The CD features chugging, charging riffs and layered melodies.
The rhythm section features drum beats provided by Simon McKay are energetic and clean leading the way throughout. The tone is enough to lead but not enough to smother the other instrumentation. It also sees bass guitarist tapping a wicked deep line as well as nice mini fills like the cool one on “Martyr Art.” The soloing is so clean you wonder why there isn’t more of it included throughout the album.
The cool riffs and melodies lead the music forward with plenty of steam like on “The Sentient” where some Goth inspired keys protrude overtop of double bass drumming and a constant vocal barrage by White-Gluz.
She brings one of the top extreme vocals of “any” man or woman in the industry. They are sick wicked and eerie, while being aggressive enough to offend even the most ardent serial killer. With Gluz though a second later she may sing an angelic Goth inspired vocal (See “Swan Lake”) making you see the vicious stark dichotomy of the woman. Those vile vocal coming from such a diminutive lady may be comical but the she has the spunk to back it up. Oh and check out White-Gluz on the 2009 Girls of Century Media Calendar, it’s worth every penny.
With this spirited performance from the one time Canadian Idol contestant, once again White-Gluz remains as one of the top front women in metal and The Agonist have created another cool fun loving metal record.
This CD has enough of everything to attract fans of every metal genre and is recommended for purchase.
Label: Century Media
Band Members
Alissa White-Gluz – Vocals
Danny Marino – Guitar
Chris Adolph – Live Guitar
Chris Kells – Bass
Simon McKay – Drums
Track Listing
1. The Tempest (The Siren’s Song; The Banshee’s Cry)
2. …And Their Eulogies Sang Me to Sleep
3. Thank You, Pain
4. Birds Elope With the Sun
5. Waiting Out the Winter
6. Martyr Art
7. Globus Hystericus
8. Swan Lake, Op. 20 – Scene, Act 2, #10 – Tchaikovsky (A Cappella)
9. The Sentient
10. When the Bough Breaks
11. Chlorpromazine
HRH Rating: 7.8/10