Customer Reviews

Akeldama

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Just happened to stumble upon The Faceless on myspace, heard 3 songs off the album, Pestilence, An Autopsy and The Ghost of a Stranger. I'm very please with the technical side, being that it isn't so technical that it becomes absurd, but there is enough to make you understand the capability of this band. The guitars are great, very precise riffing and pleasantly melodic solos. Dare I say they are in the same vain as Death, well you can hear influences anyway. As far as the bass player goes, lets just say that somewhere near the end of Ghost of a Stranger, he plays a bass riff that made my hairs on my arm stand up. Marco Pitruzzella does a great job on the drums with nice 64th note dbl bass, gravity blast beats, extremely fast fills. Great job guys, I can't wait to hear the rest of this album!

This cd is absolutelly jaw-dropping at points. This band can only be described as technical, yet senseable, brutal, yet beautiful, unbelievably off-tempo, yet always in time. This band goes from in your face death metal, to pure sludgy grind, back to hard and heavy and then, out of seemingly nowhere, smashes your face with melody, and its not just thrown in there for the hell of it.

I am a melodic death/progressive metal freak myself, so I was skeptical when I heard about this "Technical death" band. Most bands who are "technical" are technically crap. They make music that makes no sense just for the sake of making no sense and seeming to be on the edge of a revolution. This band NEVER goes too far. They have a very diverse mix of melody, technicallity, and hard-edged death/grind metal style. The only band I listen to who even compares (who they are actually friends with, btw) is All Shall Perish, which are also on, imho, the REAL forefront of the melodic death revolution. Someone mentioned an influence in a review I believe, Death, and it is quiet clear that these guys took it upon themselves to take Chuck's work and bring it beyond even his wildest dreams. My only regret is that its only 8 songs. I eagerly await the next slab of molten death from these guys, cuz it will rule the earth \m/

P.S. I defy you to find me tighter drumming than what is done on any song on this album, drumming that perhaps makes the entire cd worth what it is.

Well, I saw this CD at my local music mart and I was like, "Damn they actually have this here??" I bought it before I even knew it. The Faceless is a fairly recent addition to the Technical Death genre and they do it very well. When I heard this CD, it made me think of Beneath the Massacre. They sound a lot alike and they both are extrememly heavy. Beneath the Massacre is above the Faceless in terms of complexity and heaviness, but they are pretty well matched. But in terms of melody, if you could call it that, or would even consider calling it that, The Faceless takes the medal. Anyways, you should definitely buy this CD, you will not be dissappointed. 5 stars all the way!

Technical death metal is possibly my most favorite genre of music this day. The musicians can prove that they can break boundaries and fuse the extremities of death metal with the talent of jazz and classical music. The Faceless proves that this genre of music still has its high potential and can be executed well.

The percussion is excellent. The guitars are very technical and create a whole new dimension. The solos definitely draw out a neo-classical feel. There's definite classical infleunce. Vocal range is excellent. Every track is flawless, especially the mostly instrumental "Akeldama".

There is no moment to miss out here. If you enjoy the works of Atheist, Beneath The Massacre, Necrophagist, Cynic, and Theory In Practice, you need to pick this up!

I was extremely impressed by this awesome deubt album from The Faceless. I got "Akeldama" at FYE just last month after hearing the song "An Autopsy" on YouTube, and it quickly blew me away in an instant. This album just comes right out of nowhere and litteraly rips and smashes everything in it's path just like that. It's just brutal, vicious, hard-edged and in your face yet very technical and melodic in every sense of the way. There's definately an outstanding mix of technicality and melody as well as savage brutality and aggression throughout this great album. The production on this album is outstanding and the musicianship is straight up tight and downright amazing. I would definately say The Faceless play pretty much in the same vein as Necrophagist does as far as technicality, progression and melody are concerned. These guys definately give Necrophagist a good run for their money let me tell you. Derek Rydquist has got an awesome vocal range, switching from monstrous and beastly low death metal growling to ear bleeding, throat piercing screams. They just sound excellent on here. The guitarwork courtesy of Michael Keene and Steve Jones is simply jaw-droppingly unbelievable throughout. The riffs are just heavy and insane and very technical, the breakdowns are really sick and crushing, and the solos just rip your bare flesh off, and they're very melodic too. Michael Sherer's keyboards really shine and soar, and they really add to the audio assault of this album. They have such a spacey, sci-fi-like feel which is really cool. Brandon Griffin's bass is great, and he also does an awesome bass solo on the title track, and the drumming is very impressive and fast with lots of wicked blasting fills and wild machine gun-like double bass kicking throughout.

The blistering album opener "An Autopsy" is definately among one of the album's best songs which is highlighted by insane and merciless double bass drumming, wickedly fast insane riffs, crazy keyboard effects, insane growling/screaming vocals, and there's also a massive, crushing breakdown section around 2:25 which is followed by an awesomely ripping melodic guitar solo at 2:43. When I first heard that solo, I just laughed and grinned with amazement. Track two "Pestilence" is anohter favorite that boasts another awesome melodic guitar solo as well as more fantastic riffing and pounding blast beats, more monstrous growls and even some clean vocal parts with a wailing female falsetto harmony, and there's also a crushing breakdown near the end with some sweep picks included. The title track "Akeldama" (which features some wierd robotic vocal narration in the beginning) is an amazingly mindblowing instrumental that showcases the band's progressive and jazz-fushion influences, and it also features in my opinion, the best solo work on the album including three guitar solos (the first one is really amazing), along with a nice beautifully soaring keyboard solo after the first guitar solo, and there's also a great bass solo from Brandon Griffin around 2:52, as well as an excellent drum solo that is broken up into extended fills. Other highlights on here include "Leica" which is highlighted by more deadly growling vocals, insane technical riffing, ripping double bass kicking and pummeling fills, and a cool, spacey keyboard part at 4:13 which leads to another killer melodic guitar solo at 4:22. I also like "All Dark Graves", "Horizon of Chaos II: Hypocrisy", and "The Ghost of a Stranger" is an excellent album closer as well.

Overall, "Akeldama" is an awesomely ripping, impressively crushing debut album from The Faceless, and it definately shows that they're really indeed going places in the world of technical death metal, and they also have a new album out called "Planetary Duality" which I heard is awesome too, so I'll be getting that one pretty soon. Anyways, this album is an absolute must have for any fan of death metal, technical death metal, progressive death metal, or just extreme music period. I also recommend this to fans of Necrophagist, Death (late period stuff), Atheist, Cynic, Pestilence, All Shall Perish, and Beneath The Massacre. Enjoy!!

Let me start by saying that I'm not a heavy listener of the genres related to the faceless. I dislike grindcore, and don't care for death metal. The only music I listen to that is remotely related to The Faceless is Opeth and fusion jazz. That said, this is the most brutal, cathartic, savage album I've ever heard. I'm aware there are other bands out there that are just as heavy and brutal, but honestly, they bore me. The technical sophistication of this album is amazing, the rhythm section are virtuosos, and the sound is extremely clean and tight for a six piece band, making me shocked that the lineup varies between songs. When you can still hear the bass through blast beats, brutal riffs, death growling and soaring keyboards, you know it's good stuff. The most amazing thing technically speaking though is hearing the drummer switch tempos and time signatures perfectly, as well as injecting and switching up blistering blast beats and fills with perfect accuracy (and without triggers to help, I hear). The riffs are savage, the breakdowns are brutal, the melodic solos and keyboard work is amazing, and even the growling and screaming, which I tend to dislike, is really well done. My favorite song is the title track, which is different to the rest of the album. I don't even really know how to describe it, except by noting that it's the only song on the album that's really structured and lacks any breakdowns. It's just an amazing, forward moving instrumental with the best solo work on the album. It showcases the progressive and fusion influences of the band most. The drum solo work is broken up into extended fills, and the bass solo has interesting comping from one of the guitars. The album as a whole switches from brutal deathcore riffs to soaring climactic metal with changeups and breakdowns all over the place. The band even manages to inject interesting vocal work to this genre, switching between death growls and screams, and best - simultaneous layered death growls and screams. The song Pestilence even has singing with a wailing falsetto harmony. I can't understand the lyrics at all, but I hear they're stupid, not that the lyrics in tech deathcore matter. I think the best thing about the Faceless is the way they take the brutal intensity of deathcore and make it climactic and interesting with influences from older metal (I heard some Maiden in there), fusion, oriental and classical metal inspired melodies, and progressive elements. They don't go too prog though, the solos are short and sweet, and the album never gets boring or repetetive. In short, get this album, it is the epitome of musical catharsis.

I had heard bits and pieces of their new album "Planet Duality" and thought this band was pretty damn good. Just today I picked up this album(Akeldama)for only $1.00(I know awesome huh?). Anyways, the instrumental songs are out of this world in my opinion, especially akeldama. The album is a bit short, but great nonetheless. If you like good technical metal pick this one up, you won't be dissapointed.

There are enough lengthy reviews here so I will keep mine short. This album was my first introduction to Technical Death Metal and I would not likely change that for anything. The Faceless generate some interesting music for most of the album until you get to "Leica"[Amazon has this song mis-labled as "Leira"]. I knew once it started it was going to be good but as the song progressed it just went from good to incredible. The album finishes up nicely afterward, but every time I go back to this album I go straight to Leica first. I guarantee it to be one of the best metal songs you will ever hear.

It's all good. But, that is just my personal high-point from the album.

This is a very tight recording. It sounds really good. Every member of the band contributes flawlessly to the overall picture. It is very technical and kick-a$$. Some parts are similar to the work of Necrophagist, so if you like them, you'll probably like Akeldama. The only downside to this album is the length of it. I would have been more satisfied with a few more songs in the same vein. But that is a small complaint, and won't be enough to warrant a lower rating. Akeldama is my introduction to The Faceless. I was drawn to it by album samples on another website and the reviews here at Amazon. Overall I am very pleased with it and plan to buy "Planetary Duality" as well. The Faceless is a very talented band!

One of the best metal albums I've ever heard. Amazing production, insane rhythms, incredible guitar work