Blind Image – More Than Human(2008)

Blind Image from Chennai is a groove/experimental/thrash/contemporary metal(or so they claim on the myspace page) outfit. They released Psychobabble in 2005, and this is their much awaited follow up album, More Than Human. So I shall attempt to dissect it song by song and then try to fit the pieces back together to get an “honest” opinion.

1. More than Human – Starting with a few chugs, and then breaking down into a riff, that continues for a bit. Clean vocals, AILD style. Riffs reminiscient of LoG. Pretty straightforward metalcore song, catchy enough to get your head banging, but nothing memorable about it as such.

2. Deciphered – Vocals are much more interesting, with a bit of layering here and there. The spirit of the music remains the same. The first breakdown here, at about 2:15, confirming the “core” bit, genre wise.

3. Ominous – Apparently has something to do with the LHC, as we can gather from the spoken part. First solo on this one, fits in well. Part around 3:07 sounds a lot like RATM’s “killing in the name”.

4. Allegiance In Defiance – Probably one of the most interesting songs on this album so far. A nice, odd riff that weaves in and out, but somehow manages to stay in time.

5. Circle Of The Unique - After 4 “in your face” songs comes this acoustic interlude to the album. Seems like a bit of a gamble, putting this in the midst of all the heavy stuff, since it sounds almost like an alternative rock ballad with a touch of Opeth.

6. Semper Infidelis – Starts off with a long and complex riff, adding a technical edge to the metalcore. (As Blood Runs Black, anyone?) The pace slows, and the breakdown later goes to the main riff. The clean vocals sound slightly off, perhaps rather badly mixed as well. A promising song, but could’ve been better and more coherent.

7. Glitch In The System – Starts off with a nice groovy riff, and tom heavy drums that tend to get the head waving(if not banging) in beat. Electronic bits have been added, and interestingly they make sense, especially considering the “concept” of the album.

8. Olaf’s Log – Spoken words, describing the “concept” behind the album to an extent, quoting Nietzsche in the end. Like.

9. Epitaph – I can’t help but snigger slightly considering the title reminds me of the Necrophagist “Epitaph” with it’s sheer brutal yet melodic onslaught, and the two songs couldn’t have been more different. However, this is another acoustic(clean?) bit, justification being the concept nature of the album. Still, not as interesting as circle of the unique musically, and sounds out of place here.

10. Axioms Of Synergy – Starts with a nice bass line, one almost feels that a Meshuggah-esque end is coming(if you’ve heard the end to Catch 33, you know what I mean)…I was psyched till 1:03. But the part that follows is straightforward, catchy, but still a bit disappointing considering the start. But ends on a better ‘note’, so as to say, as the bass fades out.

11. Sepia Tone Sunrise – Clean start, and then crushing distortion. Sounds a bit like LoG, especially the harmonized riffs. The layering of the clean vocals could’ve been done a LOT better. It just sounds massively dissonant, and in the wrong way.

Sound : The drums sound okayish, but the guitar mix needs serious improvement. Would be a great help to their overall sound if the guitars sounded clearer in the mix, especially when they’re playing chords instead of notes. Electronic bits are justified due to the concept nature of the album. But the production needs work.

Lyrics - The lyrics are mostly about a fictional LHC experiment that goes wrong, and has devastating results. It later describes the frame of mind of the scientist responsible. Sounds like a Philip K Dick inspired thing(postmodernist etc), though not very sure.

Summary – This band might initially sound like a typical metalcore band, but a closer look indicates that the songwriting is promising, especially some of the longer riffs, and the vocal ideas that have great potential. They just need to get it all together for it to be a more technical, yet not a “wankery filled” outfit. With young(if I may call him so) Siddharth Nair joining the band on guitars/backing vocals, seven string guitars and a 5 string bass, it would be interesting to see where the sound progresses. For now, you can listen to some of the songs on their myspace page, and buy it if you like it. And yes, needs copious amounts of love-infused better production and mixing. Hope that’s taken care of the next time round. Waiting for the new album, keep it metal!

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