Lullabies for the Dormant Mind

The Agonist | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 10, 2009)
• Original Release Date: 2009
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Century Media
• ASIN: B001Q8FSRA
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #72,776 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome mix of feeling and technicality!, March 15, 2009

By 

guitarchick647 (Montreal, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lullabies for the Dormant Mind (Audio CD)

This album is a wonderful mixture of so many musical genres; trash, prog, metalcore, gothic, classical, etc. I was taken in by this interesting ensemble. The album artwork, themed band pics, and colours make Lullabies For The Dormant Mind a complete work and really add to the feel of the music. It's somewhat of a twisted dreamworld where songs like "...And Their Eulogies Sang Me to Sleep" is dark and haunting, "Globus Hystericus" is intelligent and thought provoking, and White-Gluz's acappella version of Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake" is beautiful and moving. It has many elements of their more metalcore first album Once Only Imagined, such as some heavy breakdowns accompanied by heavy growls. But Lullabies adds a gothic veil to the mix, adding orchestral accompaniment, killer guitar solos, and some ghostly operatic backup vocals.
Overall, Lullabies For The Dormant Mind is a huge step up for The Agonist. It's a must have for all metal collections, in my opinion. I can't wait to here more from them!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Everything But The Kitchen Sink..., November 23, 2009

By 

Patrick F. (St. Louis, MO) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lullabies for the Dormant Mind (Audio CD)

The Agonist is a female fronted progressive death metal band from the great white north, Canada. "Lullabies For The Dormant Mind" is their sophomore album that was hyped as an "album ahead of it's time", by it's label, Century Media. Bottom line is this is a modern metal band that infuses hardcore, death metal, deathcore, metal core, and black metal, with sometimes menacing vocals, and sometimes orchestral and soaring clean vocals; in short: polarizing.

1. The Tempest (4:46) 9/10
2. ...And Their Eulogies Sang Me To Sleep (3:32) 9/10
3. Thank You, Pain (3:45) 9/10
4. Birds Elope With The Sun (4:30) 9/10
5. Waiting Out the Winter (4:03) 8/10
6. Martyr Art (4:31) 7.5/10
7. Globus Hystericus (3:41) 9/10
8. Swan Lake (A Cappella) (2:53) N/A
9. The Sentient (3:39) 8.5/10
10. When the Bough Breaks (4:13) 9/10
11. Chlorpromazine (4:07 ) 7/10

Overall: 11 tracks, @ 43:38 8/10

This album sounds exactly like I thought it would. You see, their debut album "One Only Imagined" was formulaic. Breakdowns littered every song, and it wasn't as technical as it wanted you to think it was, if you know what I mean. I knew that this band would branch out to incorporate more types of metal, and use less breakdowns, and they would try and appear more extreme, and unique. Well...they tried that. But at times, I feel like you can hear that they tried to sound that way, it doesn't come across natural for this band. And while being way more technical and intricate, some of the song writing was thrown in the recycle bin.

So while "Once Only Imagined" was more connect-the-dots metal, I liked it that way; I enjoyed the breakdowns, and I enjoyed the structure, and the songs were well written modern metalcore.

Musically: This album contains great guitar work; there are death metal riffs, thrash riffs, progressive metal riffs, etc. Even a trace of black metal appears. This isn't easy stuff to play. Chris' bass lines shine through, in all their rumbling splendor on some tracks, most notably track one, "The Tempest". Simon's drumming isn't what you would normally hear of a lot of records. Their are many fills and runs that keep the drumming interesting. Like I said, the songs sometimes feel like parts, instead of songs, but it is definitely above average in the musical skill department. The piano touches are nice too, a little added bonus.

Vocally: Alissa has a wide range of vocals. She uses a low guttural vocal; like a death metal vocalist, she uses a mid toned scream like a lot of hardcore and modern metal bands, and she uses a very clean operatic voice that makes her truly a triple threat. Sometimes her lows seem forced and cliché, but otherwise she is a very versatile vocalist. I don't like all of the background harmonies that are going on in these songs this time around though. They seem to clutter the tracks and add nothing positive.

Lyrically: Alissa's topics of choice are amazing. I really relate to what she writes about. She writes about personal feelings of death anxiety and depression, and loneliness in amazing, articulate and visual ways. But, she hit's the bulls eye even more for me is that she writes about animal rights, the beauty (and decay) of nature, the connectedness of all, and the loveless life we encounter if we don't understand the beauty of our home. Her lyrics are like "Ishmael" and "1984" mixed with personal, reflective, and soul barring journal entries. A + in my book.

So overall it is a solid record, even though my preceding paragraphs might seem otherwise. It just takes a few times for it all to sink in, and form songs if you will. It's hard to pick between the two releases for me. The last song brings this down a half point to an 8/10 for me, as I think the quiet parts really bring it down. A good album from a band wit crazy technical prowess.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely Stunning, September 26, 2009

By 

E. Bender (SLO, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Lullabies for the Dormant Mind (Audio CD)

After my first listen of Lullabies For The Dormant Mind I was simultaneously stunned and astounded. Alissa White-Gluz is an absolute banshee with that mic - it's UNREAL (not to mention she's gorgeous!). She is the new queen of the female metal vocalists without a doubt. Her vocal range is nearly beyond comprehension both screams and clean vocals.

As for the actual music that accompanies that monster with the microphone...well, it's incredible too. Their first album, Once Only Imagined, was a more straight-forward metalcore release with Alissa experimenting every so often with some clean passages, but nothing felt really cohesive or whole-hearted. It was a good first effort from these guys, however, Lullabies For The Dormant Mind is an enormous step up and beyond in terms of technicality, production and delivery. There isn't a song on this album that I don't like, including the A Capella masterpiece arranged by Alissa herself.

If you're looking for a new band and a refreshing sound that's not that same run of the mill stuff then please look into buying this album. In this band lies very much potential. They could turn metal upside down. This album is pure sonic splendor that should not be looked over.