…And Oceans
Cypher (Century Media)
by Martin Popoff
Much more metal screeched and cerebral black metallic than the band’s last album (a techno question mark conundrum called A.M.G.O.D.), Cypher is still a provocative, almost annoying claptrap of signals, starting with big, belaboured song titles, each housing at least one colon, many of them three phrases and two colons, which simply… cannot be done! But these misanthropic Finns most certainly are about breaking rules, Cypher sounding like some cross between Arcturus, Zyklon, Peccatum, Rammstein, and The Kovenant, turning in songs that are surprisingly accessible. Most churn on angular guitar patterns at relaxed groovy speeds, even if the cold, stainless-steel production values and the nu-black vocals of Kenny keep you grimly frown-gowning.
(2323 W. El Segundo Blvd. Hawthorne, CA 90250)