CoC : Theme - Valentine (Lost) Forever : Review

Theme - _Valentine (Lost) Forever_
(Heart & Crossbone, 2009)
by: Quentin Kalis (6.5 out of 10)

Theme apparently do not wish to be placed within or constrained by the "industrial" label and reject any such association. This is an argument oft repeated by bands who wish to see themselves as unique and too experimental or avant-garde to be placed within any genre. Theme do have a point, as their cornucopia of tortured metal sounds, menacing drones and guitar strums all contained within an ominous cocoon does not sound like your typical industrial project, but not so far removed as to fall outside its boundaries. This is also described as more "song-based" than previous albums, and given that this displays the typical genre irreverence towards typical song structures, one can only imagine how chaotic their previous two albums must have been. Each song features the same basic elements of snarled or whispered vocals overlaying a droning underbed of looped samples accompanied by occasional percussion or reverbed effects, avoiding the sense of randomness that ails many of their ilk, yet it still sounds inchoate in parts. There's no reason to reject this out of hand, nor is there a reason to select this over many others within or at the fringes of post-industrial.

Contact: http://www.HCBrecords.com

(article published 28/7/2010)