Today we head to Finland to discover the sounds of Dead Shape Figure. They have been described in their bio as modern thrash death metal. They are now a part of the Dynamic Arts Records label and have given me a copy of 'The Disease Of St Vitus' for review. I interviewed them back in December last year. You can view that interview here. It's a shame I don't have a copy of the lyrics with this CD as in the interview they stated they had hired a professional poet to co-write with.
Suicide Continental - The album starts out with some serious thrash metal sounds. The beat sways the head into acceptance. The vocals are more of a hardcore style sound and are not decipherable for the most part. There is somewhat of a spoken section which confirms they are being sung in English, though I cannot state for sure if the entire song is. The pace is reasonably fast and has a hectic feel to it. Overall, it is a good track to start us off.
Seraphim - This next track starts out pretty intense with some brutal riffage and overall heaviness. The music just tears the hearing a new level of listen. There seems to be a lot going on but not in a messy sense as such as an intensity sense. There are some choral vocal parts which seem to moderate the aggression a bit. The musical structure is varied but not in a progressive sense. It flows well though it's cut into sections which seem to help lessen the tracks hostility. There is a good lead in here toward the end of the track. Overall, the band sound very tight and work well together.
Face On The Nails - This next track starts out with a little more groove to the music than its predecessors. The guitar also seems more prominent in here. The vocals are also a bit different to the other tracks as they are cleaner than usual so are therefore a lot more decipherable. The pace is faster and their rhythm guitar sounds like a bullet train brutally chugging along. There are also many levels of depth and intensity in here which force you to follow their emotive course. I actually prefer the combined singing styles in this track over the others. The music in here is somewhat more melodic too. Great track!
Felix Culpa - The pace in this track is again quite fast and the vocals are also varied as the musical structure alternates between parts. It's interesting when you concentrate on the vocals and listen to them merge from spoken to scream. It's a bizarre sounding transition. It's almost like a hip hop to metal transformation. I'm glad it's not though, as I may have had to destroy the CD. It's really just something in the delivery of the vocal in this track. If it weren't for the awesome guitar riff and musical variance, that vocal might be starting to shit me. It's a little like Rage Against The Machine in their delivery in parts which is probably why it's annoying me so much. Ignoring that one point, the music is awesome, well structured and well produced.
Amberstar - This next one starts out with some decent riffs and rhythms and soon becomes a monsterous noise. The vocals in here are mainly hardcore in style with a complimentary clean vocal. The lead guitar is set back in to the music while the rhythms are brought more forward, with the vocals even more prominent. My only issue is at 03:36 when the music pauses the guitar lead is left in the background ending its lead where it should have been brought further forward slowly during its lead in order to be at the right level in this pause. Aside from this, the production is great and everything generally seems well balanced.
Madonna Of Seven Sorrows - We are straight into this next track with some distorted remnants. This soon becomes a rhythmic assault which should promptly get you into the moshpit if it were live. The vocals enter the track with their hardcore sounding style and retain them throughout. There is a fairly decent guitar lead in here and overall the guitar work is pretty good. The main focus however, is the vocals so any lead guitar work is generally subsided. It's the kind of track you can simply get into and leave your cares behind.
Idiopolis - Here we have the longest track on the album at 05:49 which starts out with some melodic guitar work which is soon assisted by some double kick drumming. The vocals begin with their hardcore style, though as the song continues I begin to hear those Rage Against The Machine aspects I previously mentioned, so I am losing interest in this fast. I just don't like the rap/hip hop influence. I think it should be eliminated from all metal. Don't get me wrong, this does not sound like hip hop or rap at all. It's just that in the vocal delivery at times there is a style similar to RATM which really ruins the track for me. If I look past that, the music is awesome and I can handle the hardcore vocals, but every time I hear that RATM even slightly approaching it kills it. So really only that one vocal part requires amendment as the entire music section, the hardcore vocal and melodic clean vocal styles are perfectly fine.
Shrouds - This next track starts out with a fairly basic, rhythmic strut. The vocals start out fairly clean which is soon reacquainted with the hardcore backing. At 02:23 the vocals take a distinctive Finnish turn into a spoken lyric. Sadly, I have no idea what they're saying. The vocals are generally only slightly decipherable in this track. The music is fairly standard with nothing which really stands out but it is overall a tight, well structured piece which is well produced and balanced. I do enjoy a little language diversity in some songs so this has been an added plus in this one. The pace is fairly laid back in comparison to the others yet it does still incorporate that heavy element.
Cities Of The Plain - Here we have the final track on the album and it starts out with some heavy rhythms and some good double kick drumming to compliment it with. This soon turns into a wicked little mosh song. The guitars get furious and the drums continue to hammer away. The vocals relay their hardcore style. Again, they are only slightly decipherable. The song abruptly ends at 02:48 with a prolonged, distorted guitar feedback until 02:55.
In essence, Dead Shape Figure have created a great album to mosh too. The album presents a brilliant hardcore metal ensemble and should be well received by such genre fans. You'll note in the introduction I had been informed it was a thrash death metal band, however I must disagree and state that I truly believe this is leaning much more toward the hardcore genre. The CD I received is a promotional copy so I only have the CD and a bio, no cover, so I can't comment on the packaging or printed content. I am not generally a hardcore fan and I obviously am not a fan of RATM, however I can handle listening to this style of music in small doses. Considering what I have heard in this genre over the years, I am more prone to appreciate this album than many others I've heard. It is well produced and structured too. It's definitely got a thrash element to the music, which is what I think makes it so good. In my interview with them, Galzi said "I guess what really sets Dead Shape Figure apart from the others is that we don't give a fuck about being a thrash band. We just want to make stuff that gives us the right kind of a kick in the ass. That's when we know others might just like our shit too." I think they have achieved this as it is pretty heavy and fast in parts and well it does kick arse really. If you love your hardcore, then I would suggest you buy it! If you simply love your metal like me, then it's worth checking out. As always, check out the links below and hopefully you'll find something new for your collection.
LINKS
Dead Shape Figure Website
Dead Shape Figure Myspace
Dynamic Arts Records
Review by Déa di Morté © 05 March 2011
All pictures courtesy of Dead Shape Figure and Dynamic Arts Records