Illdisposed

There Is Light (But It's Not For Me)

Written by: MST on 14/03/2011 13:52:49

The danish kings of mid-tempo death metal are back with yet another opus. Illdisposed's last album had a hard time at Rockfreaks.net, because PP more or less despised the vocals of frontman Bo Summer. He liked the music though, so I reckon the album would've received more praise by someone who likes the vocals. I do, so let's test the theory on Illdisposed's new album entitled "There Is Light (But It's Not For Me)".

Illdisposed have a very distinct sound: bass-heavy mid-tempo semi-melodic death metal with synths here and there and Bo Summer's easily distinguishable double growl and scream, meaning that he records the vocals twice and then the two recordings are layered on top of each other. This new record sees Illdisposed take the synths to a new level; there’s now almost as much electronic music as there are guitars to be heard, but without making it sound cheesy. The synths only go too far once: the end of "Our Words Betrayed" in which the synths are allowed to finish the song off alone in a way that makes it sound like some club-friendly techno-dance track. We're still treated to heavy and memorable death metal riffs and drums that mostly remain in mid-tempo, but sometimes do some blasting where it is appropriate. The album also includes movie quotes as has been the tradition in all of the Illdisposed albums I can remember. There is a quote at the start of "Rape"; a man talking about a woman who has been driven insane by something, and the woman who keeps chanting "Revenge! Revenge!" There is even a quote from Titanic at the end of the song "We".

I'm sure there are plenty of people who will hate this album for the immense use of electronic music, but for me it works perfectly well with the rest of the instruments. It adds a lot to the sound, both in that it adds another factor than guitars, bass and drums and in that the synths and guitars often follow each other, making the riffs sound richer and more interesting. A prime example of the essence of the album is "As The Day Rottens", which contains drums in both tempos, those deliciously heavy guitar riffs that characterize Illdisposed's sound (see the song "Rape" for an excellent example), a great melodic solo and plenty of electronic music to add flavor to a sound that already has enough interesting elements to make a good song.

Illdisposed have composed a new album that stands out as their first attempt at adding electronic music as an instrument. But it is not only an attempt, it is an accomplishment, because it works incredibly well. I've always been fond of Illdisposed's music, but I'm confident that this will be the album that I look back at when thinking of Illdisposed in the future.

Download: Heaven Forbid, As The Day Rottens, Rape, We
For The Fans Of: Embryo, Panzerchrist, Hypocrisy, Deathstars gone death metal
Listen: MySpace

Release date 28.03.2011
Massacre Records / Target

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