CoC : Negate - The Dead Guy Palace : Review

Negate - _The Dead Guy Palace_
(Good Life Recordings, 2002)
by: Xander Hoose (6.5 out of 10)

While Belgium is most famous for its grindcore bands, such as Agathocles, that is not the only musical style Belgians are adept at. Negate are giving it a shot with their unusual approach to Swedish thrash metal. _The Dead Guy Palace_ can be judged from two different angles. First, the brave attempt to add black metal vocals, black metal keyboards and also hardcore vocals to their Gothenburg melodies seems highly original. The other side of the coin is that after repeated listens to _TDGP_, it sounds a little bit too forced, as if they couldn't decide what they really wanted to do. Even though many of the songs are of a superb quality, such as "Evil Black Stars" and "Statement of Aggression", the songs would have had a stronger impact without that schizophrenic feeling to them. That said, _TDGP_ is still a very promising album with the potential to get Negate a good name in the international scene. If they manage to work on their own identity a little more, they might find a place for themselves in the gap that Dissection has left behind years ago.

(article published 1/9/2002)