Age Of Silence - Acceleration

Year of Release: 2004
Label: The End Records
Catalog Number:
Format: CD
Total Time: 45:08:00

Examination:

What is it supposed to be?

Magrit-inspired cover art, grainy cold-war era insert photography, dossier-style band shots, new-industrial-age imagery and conspiratorial, arcane lyrics all combine to present a remarkably unique package that portends the musical conundrums within?.

Analysis:

What it is:

The band is comprised of members of various profiled black/death bands, so the expectations of many will be thwarted by this release. The music herein is compositionally complex, instrumentally unified in concept and execution, devoid of any wanton instrumental aggrandizement and marvelously free of growled / shrieked / yelled / yodeled / bellowed vocals! The vision presented is perpetuated on the band's website, which is laid out in faux-business fashion, replete with corporate-speak titling and jargon?

Vocals: "Lazare" has a strong mid-ranged delivery, his melodies are well suited to his abilities and they function within the confines of the arrangements perfectly: delivering the message articulately and providing an emotional counterpoint to the music that thrums underneath...

Guitars/bass: Equal parts harmonic and rhythmic, guitarists "Kobbergaard" and "Extant" lock step with bassist "Eikind", their intertwined parts propelling and providing industrial-tinged clout to the whole ? acoustic and distorted parts are symbiotic, and there are no guitar solos to speak of-a calculated move, perfectly in synch with the Spartan concept. Restraint: a rare commodity in prog metal...

Keyboards: "Winter" offers beautifully crafted textural lines that swirl and fill in the spaces left by the guitars ? a lexicon of understated expertise ? the few occasions he solos are integral to the dynamic tension created ? even the pseudo-orchestral sounds are tastefully presented (particularly the cello patches in "90 Degree Angles")?

Drums: "Hellhammer" delivers a truly virtuosic performance, enhancing the pedestrian time signatures with subtle yet deliberate shadings and counter-rhythms that enhance the groove and circumvent the mundane?

Production: Every instrument has its space, yet the mix retains an organic, moribund quality, contributing to the clandestine impression created by the music and lyrics.

Summary:

Superb. Acceleration is a fine piece of work. The concept is unique to metal, and the packaging and execution are first-rate. The combination of the website and the LP packaging is masterful ... seldom does a concept album receive such careful consideration, or marry such disparate elements into a cohesive whole. The tension created by the music is palpable ? there is a feeling of impending doom and claustrophobia, exacerbated by the storyline ? I listened to this with headphones in the dark, and was transported into this post-apocalyptic world of intrigue ... a rare experience indeed!

Rating: 5/5 (I didn't make a deduction for the pseudonyms, although I should have ... this is the only aspect of the entire production that was incongruous?)

Standout tracks: "90 Degree Angels," "Synthetic Fabricated Calculated"

Tracklisting:
Auditorium Of Modern Movements (3:36) / Acceleration (4:30) / The Concept Of Haste (4:09) / A Song For D Incorporated (4:59) / The Green Office And The Dark Desk Drawer (4:17) / The Flow At 09:30 AM (6:25) / Of Concrete And Glass (3:14) / 90 Degree Angles (7:19) / I No Longer Know If I Am Mad (2:28) / Synthethic, Fabricated, Calculated (4:11)

Musicians:
Lazare (Lars Nedland) - vocals
Extant - guitars
Kobbergaard (K. Haugen) - guitars
Eikind (Lars eric Si) - bass
Hellhammer (Jan Axel Von Blomberg) - drums
Winter (Andy Winter) ? keyboards

Discography:
Acceleration (2004)

Genre: Progressive/Power Metal

Origin NO

Added: May 16th 2005
Reviewer: Jan-Mikael Erakare
Score:
Artist website: www.ageofsilence.com
Hits: 3284
Language: english