Artist: Encephalon
Title: The Transhuman Condition
Genre: Electronic
Release Date: 28th October 2011
Label: Dependent Records
Album Review
The name ENCEPHALON spooks around through circles of open-minded music addicts for years already and has been an insider's tip ever since the track 'Responder' has been placed on Vol.6 of the renowned Septic compilation series. Further contributions considerably helped getting the word out. After a bit of an eternity 'The Transhuman Condition' sees its release as the band's first full-length on Dependent Records. As angelic as the album opener 'Rise' starts with the choirs, it's distorted pain soon piercing through and a beat punching nails into your flesh "Nail me down and crucify me / I want to feel nothing but your betrayal" If pain has become everything that is left to feel you either become a sorry piece of crap on the floor or you're gaining enormous strength cause you're completely numbed by now. The title track follows right up and unleashes pulsing patterns of violence, finding their counterpart in matt Gifford's clean voice heard for the first time now and which turns into a bundle of rage only seconds after.
'Garden' is not as club-friendly as the track before. It's emphasizing on atmosphere and grants insight into the mind of an individual that failed to overcome the contempt and the tears building up over a lifetime and yet there's still hope inside that one day the opponent will be able to start a new era. 'The Killing Horizon' draws on its protean nature by injecting acoustic parts into the electronic, melding the organic with the artificial. More than before the vocals rise above the composition and make this one a highlight of the album. The 'Mariana's Trench' is opening its arms to drag you out of this life and while plunging deeper you're beginning to wonder if it's really sad you're fading from a world where freedom is but a word and where you're forced to maintain a façade to blend in while slowly dying on the inside because you have to. 'Drop Dead' integrates many future pop ingredients. It's overly melodic and compared to other tracks on this album rather straight. Looking at the lyrical reveals the abysms of several human's fates that remain unheard in a society that has become deaf for their screams!
What goes around comes around! A thousand fold in this case, portraying a selfish way of life sooner or later the bill must be paid for. You're always getting bad karma for an elbow mentality. 'Scar On Scar On Scar' speaks with two voices. The accusing one's quivering with contempt; the commiserative swims in melancholy. No commiseration for the end of that person in particular but for the mere fact that there's no other way. Some of us pile up guilt that would be enough for 3 lifetimes and sometimes I'm hoping there's something like the afterlife where those people are going through eternal hell whatever it is to them. After listening to 'Past The Grave' it seems I'm not the only one. The closing is made by a mid-tempo track carried on a solid beat that is beefed up with plenty of little twists....So long we've waited for a full-length of the trio and the bars were set pretty high by themselves. Did it live up to the expectations? Sure, it did!!! A cross-breed of multi-layered beats melodies and vocals has been created that should be part of any electronic aficionado's collection. You just have to be open-minded.
Tracklist
01. Rise
02. The Transhuman Condition
03. Daylight
04. Garden
05. The Killing Horizon
06. Mariana's Trench
07. Drop Dead
08. Scar On Scar On Scar
09. A Lifetime Of Puppetry
10. Human Shield
11. Face First (With Fractured And Famine)
12. Past The Grave
Line-Up
Matt Gifford - Vocals, Concept, Programming, Production, Multimedia
Sam Mainer - Programming, Production
Alis Alias - Vocals, Synth, Multimedia
Website
http://www.encephalon.ca
Cover Picture
Rating
Music: 9
Sound: 9
Extras: -
Total: 9 / 10
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