As the evenings begin to get longer and the kids grumpily trudge back to school (having suffered “Back to school!” ads since early August!), and people begin to toy with the idea of the “c” word --- no, I mean
Christmas, you dirty --- now look what you've made me do! It's out there: everyone will be talking about a countdown any day now. You just watch the TV ads! Right, anyway, where was I? Oh yeah: it becomes apparent that with only four months left in the year, and new albums mounting up on my hard drive, with more being released every week, the chances of my getting through all or even most of the ones I want to review are becoming slimmer than a stick insect. Problem.
Then I thought about “Bitesize”. Sure why not? I can just as easily review new albums there, the same way I've been reviewing older ones, and hopefully get through more than if I just doled out the one a week or less through my normal journal.
... or maybe just a void (geddit? A-void? Avoid?) Oh I give up!
Artiste: Mercurial Void
Nationality: American
Album: Mercurial Void
Year: 2012
Label: Self-released
Genre: Progressive Metal
Tracks:
One way
Slumber collections Volume I
Disembodied
Hollow as my heart
What's coming to you (Ego meets reality)
Fever dream
Anxiety addict
Deflated and isolated
Chronological position: Debut album
Familiarity: Zero
Interesting factoid:
Initial impression: Well it started off really heavy then, um, changed, so not sure.
Best track(s): Hollow as my heart
Worst track(s): Kind of everything else really...
Comments: As I say above, this album seems to change from style to style. A big heavy, almost doom metal opening swiftly changes to a melodic, almost progressive style, and the opening track's almost halfway through before there's any vocals at all. Kind of almost the best of both worlds really: heavy and fast coupled with real instrumental expertise. The song titles certainly denote more a doom/death influence, although the second track is pure progressive rock. Whoa! My head is spinning. This was actually one of the very first (possibly
the very first) 2012 albums I got, and yet it's taken me this long to get around to reviewing it. Starting to regret that delay now.
There are only eight tracks on the album, and I must say at times the production lets it down, sounding very demo-tape-ish, but these guys certainly know how to play, and the singer ain't bad either. As it happens, Jesse Blankenship plays guitar and keyboards as well as doing the vocals. I must admit, I haven't yet heard too much of the keys; this seems to be pretty guitar-oriented so far. Some of it's very intricate, indeed, and a very prominent bass presence too. The only real problem I see --- and it's a big one --- is that nothing, so far anyway, seems to stand out. The tracks come and go. They're mostly good, but nothing that make me sit up and take notice. It started well, but I'm beginning to wonder has this album got what it takes to go the distance? Do I?
The amateurish production values raise their head again in
Disembodied, which is exactly how Blankenship's vocal sounds, isolated and tinny. Of course, they are self-releasing this album so maybe I shouldn't be so harsh on them, but really, if you can't get decent production right, why not wait until you can get a professional to sort it for you? Get what ya pays for. That's not to say the vocals are bad, or weak, cause they're not. But they just seem a little, I don't know, removed from the rest of the band, who come across as very together. Maybe Jesse should concentrate on his singing and leave the instrumentation to others, farm it out?
Of course, if that's him on the guitar solo in this track, then maybe it's a case of not playing while at the same time singing, as he seems to be a very decent guitarist. There's no shame in it: the great BB King himself has to stop playing guitar to sing. Nothing wrong with that; it's hard to do both at once I'm sure, and I have nothing but respect for those who manage it, and do it well, but sometimes it's asking too much of yourself, and that then translates across to the listener.
Okay, I can hear his keyboards now on
Hollow as my heart, and they're certainly very nice; ethereal, progressive, sumptuous. Nice bit of piano too, and the vocals are certainly up to par here. This would have to be the closest Mercurial Void have come to a ballad, and it's a nice change, even if the harder guitars cut in from time to time. Probably the standout at this point. Certainly grabbed my attention. Ah yeah, but then a little more than halfway through it turns left, and becomes a hard-edged rocker, which I really don't feel sits well with what has gone previously. Doesn't ruin the song, but doesn't really help it either.
I think Mercurial Void's problem is that they're not sure at this point what they want to be: a speed metal band? A power metal band? A progressive metal band? It's like those soccer friendlies, where the manager tries out various formations and gives hitherto untested players a run out. That's what it seems like the band are doing here; trying out ideas to see what works. But they don't yet seem to have found the answer, and as the album goes on it jumps from style to style, with
What's coming to you (Ego meets reality) more in the vein of Iron Maiden, with elements of Nirvana thrown in, while
Fever dream seems to rely on a Sabbath style of playing. Almost rips them off, if I'm honest. And Maiden. Totally. Guys, the way to write a long song is NOT to stitch together a Sabbath melody and a Maiden one and pretend it's your own original composition. Oh crap! It's eleven minutes long! That's it: I'm outta here.
Don't worry: I listened to the rest of the album, but more or less passively. I didn't hear anything though that changed my opinion, more reinforced it really. Possibly released too soon, guys: come back to me when you decide what sort of band you want to be, and have your own sound, not just copying the greats.
Overall impression: Confusing. Sometimes good, but pretty amateurish and hard to get into. Not original enough.
Intention: IF they release another album I MAY give it a listen, but I'd be in no hurry...
(It may speak volumes that I could only find one video for these guys on the web, and that it's recorded by a guy whose camera cut out halfway through the song. Kind of a blessing really. I could have created my own, but I've been so disappointed by this album that I just could not be bothered. This gives you an idea of what they're about, anyway)