\n
For purposes of this discussion, I’m going to give an over simplified definition of electronica as synth based industrial- ie. pop-oriented, vs. industrial metal which we’ll define as heavy guitar based- leaning towards a metal sound. Of course, both these subgenres evolved out of the early industrial noise bands, like the excellent Black House, which were purely sound effects all strung together. Christian industrial metal hit its heyday in the 90’s with bands like Circle of Dust and Klank while bands like Rammstein tore it up in the mainstream. There has been a real dearth in this style since those days, but with all music running in cycles, we patiently awaited its return. Within the past couple years, both Circle of Dust and Klank returned with new music (although both have distanced themselves from the christian community.) Last year Demon Hunter mainman Ryan did a side project with Project 86 alum Steven Dail called Nyves, but it proved to be as much electronica as industrial metal. Here is another stab at a return to the industrial realm. Ex- Becoming the Archetype bassist and singer Jason Wisdom needs no introduction, as he has some of the most recognizable pipes in christian death metal. I would call this a side project, but he’s already booked a tour and festival dates, so we’ll see where it goes. The Storm Before the Calm<\/span> suffers from some of the same problems as Nyves in that it mixes electronica and industrial metal, but displays a wide diversity throughout the album. Some songs like “Until Then” stay strictly in piano and electronica , while others bring metal guitar (or in this case- bass guitar) to the forefront with Jason’s trademark death metal growls. Project 86’s Schwab guests on “Self Mind Dead,” a tribute to early Solid State Scandinavian hardcore band Self Mindead. “Slow Dance (With Death)” brings the tempo down a little too much. The last 2 songs are an odd instrumental called “The Belmont Family Curse”- the 2nd part seeemingly Nintendo playing set to rock music. Melody is woven through the album with pop sensibilities and the standard random samples, voices, and effects. There’s some good metal moments on this album, but it’s clearly not a return to the full-on industrial metal glory days. A hit and a miss. (Solid State) – 3 out of 5 stars<\/p>\n \n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" For purposes of this discussion, I’m going to give an over simplified definition of electronica…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":2082,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1020],"tags":[636,966],"class_list":["post-3514","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-review","tag-becoming-the-archetype","tag-death-therapy"],"yoast_head":"\n