Hybrid Circle - Before History
'Before History' is the third full length from Prog Death Metal group Hybrid Circle. Fusing Death Metal, Melodic Death Metal, and even a bit of Modern Metal, the group has created a concept album based upon sci-fi themes very similar to the Industrial Metal group Fear Factory. In fact, from the sound of the guitar tones and the vocals, if one were to look far back to Fear Factory's 'Soul Of A New Machine' days, the two bands could sound very similar with the razor sharp chugs, keyboards, and rhythmic drumming over grunted vocals such as on Hybrid's track "Ouverture 209" when compared to "Martyr." The only main difference between the two is the lack of clean vocals with Hybrid Circle, but every once in a while they throw in a dose here or there. Throughout 'Before History," Hybrid Circle weaves between thick, chugging slabs of Death Metal with melody infused like "Not Different From Us" to more electronically based tracks mixed with the guitar such as "Plan CyberVAC," which is similar to Melodic Death Metal bands along the lines of earlier Raunchy. Still, the combination of the two are enjoyable to hear and the enhanced production certainly enhances the melodic aspects so distortion does not get in the way.
While this is not the most 'expected' Progressive Death Metal album, Hybrid Circle throw in their moments. The opening spoken word introduction is a nice touch, but might not appeal to fans too much on a musical level. However, the closing "Outro" is fantastic as the band shows off their skill with guitar, keyboards/ symphonic elements, and of course the rather sci-fi electronic bits. It is talent like this that really separates the generic bands from the talented ones, and Hybrid Circle make their mark with this. There is even an acoustic version of the band's debut album track "Circle." It sounds decent but the clean vocals feel a bit off, which is perhaps understandable why the group don't use them very much on the other tracks despite the strong-sounding Fear Factory influences. Still, it adds another progressive touch that shows the band's well rounded ability to do both hard and soft tracks. 'Before History' is certainly a big step for Hybrid Circle not only in concept and lyrical delivery, but also music, giving fans something a bit more than the average Prog Death Metal out there, even if it is not conventional overall.
While this is not the most 'expected' Progressive Death Metal album, Hybrid Circle throw in their moments. The opening spoken word introduction is a nice touch, but might not appeal to fans too much on a musical level. However, the closing "Outro" is fantastic as the band shows off their skill with guitar, keyboards/ symphonic elements, and of course the rather sci-fi electronic bits. It is talent like this that really separates the generic bands from the talented ones, and Hybrid Circle make their mark with this. There is even an acoustic version of the band's debut album track "Circle." It sounds decent but the clean vocals feel a bit off, which is perhaps understandable why the group don't use them very much on the other tracks despite the strong-sounding Fear Factory influences. Still, it adds another progressive touch that shows the band's well rounded ability to do both hard and soft tracks. 'Before History' is certainly a big step for Hybrid Circle not only in concept and lyrical delivery, but also music, giving fans something a bit more than the average Prog Death Metal out there, even if it is not conventional overall.
- Intro
- Ouverture 209
- The Preacher
- Not Different From Us
- Plan CyberVAC
- Wisdom Popular
- Teamwork
- Project Bait
- The Factory
- Onset
- Never The Same Again
- Cysquare Zero
- Outro
- Circle (acoustic version)
Label: http://www.buil2kill.com
Reviewer: Colin McNamara
Jun 14, 2012
Jun 14, 2012
Next review:
Demonic Slaughter - Dark Essence
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