Fehler- Adharma
Fehler's EP, Adharma, obviously has had some bad karma. Never in my lifetime as a reviewer have I heard an album that sounded like everything was trying to work AGAINST itself rather than together. Track after track the instruments clash together, creating senseless noise and making it difficult to really enjoy anything that Fehler has to offer. While the group calls itself part of the "sludge/doom/hardcore" genre, the music really doesn't fit any of those categories. Sure, you can pick out the influences- the weighty guitars drums at a snail's pace mark the sludge doom influence where the vocals have that hardcore roar to them- but it takes a keen ear and most likely that ear will not be happy after wading through the sonic hell hole that Adhamra has to offer. Obviously, the band is intent on harming their fans with their efforts...
Maybe Fehler's work would be more suitible for the drone doom family along the lines that they try to create a huge black hole of distortion with their instruments. That's fine if you're following the pattersn of Sunn O or Re123 or Boris or Nadja, but what makes those bands so good is simplicity. And Fehler's being too complicated with Adharma so the drone doom family probably would reject them too.
Some tracks aren't an entire mess. The opening track, "Season of the Witch," has some clear vocal grunting with the drumming being barely audible. It's the guitars that ruin everything because their distortion is bouncing off everything like opposite magnents, weaving crackling waves of sound over the drums and obliterating them while making the vocals fuzzy and faded at times. The same can be said for "In Her Eyes," which thankfully doesn't like exactly like the first track, but still has the fading problem going on. This problem persists, especially on the track "Variations of a Theme" where it sounds like the music is coming from a radio just moving out of the FM/ AM station's reach and it fades in and out with plenty of static. Not pleasant to listen to, not even for those crazy drone doom fans.
Either Adharma had some very poor production with their label, Black Death Records, or this unholy mess was done on purpose. If that's so, then Fehler really should go to the department of defense and say, "Here, we have a piece of music that will clear a building better than any smoke bomb, tear gas, or grenade you could possess. And best of all... it's cheap!" Let that be a warning: Fehler have created a monster of a weapon here that should be directed upon the ears of only those you want to see cry, hate with a passion like a cheating ex, or possibly deafen because the sounds created are intolerable. We already have some pretty intolerable ambiant black metal bands out there, let's not add anymore shall we?
Maybe Fehler's work would be more suitible for the drone doom family along the lines that they try to create a huge black hole of distortion with their instruments. That's fine if you're following the pattersn of Sunn O or Re123 or Boris or Nadja, but what makes those bands so good is simplicity. And Fehler's being too complicated with Adharma so the drone doom family probably would reject them too.
Some tracks aren't an entire mess. The opening track, "Season of the Witch," has some clear vocal grunting with the drumming being barely audible. It's the guitars that ruin everything because their distortion is bouncing off everything like opposite magnents, weaving crackling waves of sound over the drums and obliterating them while making the vocals fuzzy and faded at times. The same can be said for "In Her Eyes," which thankfully doesn't like exactly like the first track, but still has the fading problem going on. This problem persists, especially on the track "Variations of a Theme" where it sounds like the music is coming from a radio just moving out of the FM/ AM station's reach and it fades in and out with plenty of static. Not pleasant to listen to, not even for those crazy drone doom fans.
Either Adharma had some very poor production with their label, Black Death Records, or this unholy mess was done on purpose. If that's so, then Fehler really should go to the department of defense and say, "Here, we have a piece of music that will clear a building better than any smoke bomb, tear gas, or grenade you could possess. And best of all... it's cheap!" Let that be a warning: Fehler have created a monster of a weapon here that should be directed upon the ears of only those you want to see cry, hate with a passion like a cheating ex, or possibly deafen because the sounds created are intolerable. We already have some pretty intolerable ambiant black metal bands out there, let's not add anymore shall we?
Black Death Records
Reviewer: Colin McNamara
Mar 24, 2010
Mar 24, 2010
Next review:
Alkoholizer- Drunk Or Dead
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