This lackluster, derivative effort comes from Swedish goth-metaler Johnny Hagel, formerly of Sundown and Tiamat, the once huge Euro-goth group, and Carl Nilsson of the Swedish industrial band Moth. It's industrial metal with lots of electronic flourishes but indistinguishable from other bands in the genre. The electronic bits are actually pretty good, but few of the songs really rock, and industrial metal is supposed to rock. Neither is this really music for goth-metalers to dance to. One could dance to some of the songs, but others are more suitable for swaying and eventually nodding off. The vocals are industrial-sounding, but extremely generic, almost parodic. They could also use more distortion. The really pathetic, English-as-a-second-language-type lyrics pretty much sink this half-hearted project. Song titles like "Isolation," "Cold," "Failure," and "Alone" sum up the album's vibe.
© Adam Bregman /TiVo