Customer Reviews

Lullabies for the Dormant Mind

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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!

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.

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.

First off...Im generally not a big fan of the death metal growls, but I was messing around on youtube, I came across a short clip of Thank You, Pain and I was floored by it. Next day I went and bought Lullabies For The Dormant Mind and the album is just amazing. The mix of vocal styles and the playing all goes together amazingly. Im not a fan of the Swan Lake track, but that doesnt really take away from the album as a whole. Even if you're not a big fan of death metal vocals, I still recommend this to any metal fan. 10/10

I saw the Agonist open for Epica/Scar Symmetry/Blackgard in Seattle on 12/2/10. I actually tried to show up late, because the only band I really wanted to see was Scar Symmetry. We showed up around 9:00, but the show hadn't even started yet. I'm so glad, because I was completely blow away by this band. So much energy, and melodic/aggressive/powerful metal. White-Gluz's vocals are amazing. I love music that mixes up clean and screaming/growling vocals. It adds so much more of a layer to the music. This band does it so well. And they were so good live. It's sometimes tough to get a good impression of a band live when you're not familiar with their music, but these guys came across so well.

After the show, a couple members of the band, including the singer, went to the back of the venue and signed autographs and took pictures with fans. Very cool thing to do. I couldn't wait to get home and D/L this album. Absolutely no regrets. First impressions, "Thank you Pain" and "Birds Elope" are just epic!!

If you like this genre of music, by all means pick this album up. I will definitely try to see them live again...they have found a new fan!

I have been lukewarm on The Agonist ever since the demo for Century Media when they were called The Tempest. They were okay, but not exceptional, so I didn't buy thier first album. Needless to say, I still don't feel the need to pick that album up. Lullabies for the Dormant Mind, however, shows a marked improvement from these canadians.

The Agonist plays an interesting form of metalcore...oh wait, it's deathcore...oh wait, grindcore...oh wait, black metal--okay make that symphonic black metal...or is it death metal...thrash?...gothic metal?...opera?...WTF? These guys and gal show traces of each genre listed above. That said, it comes off quite miraculous that it doesn't sound like refuse. As a matter of fact, it is quite good. This is coming from a guy who doesn't like much metalcore.

This singer is impressive in her delivery and style as well as in the fact that she can go from soprano opera to brutal death growl and everything (and I do mean everything) in between. I can write scathing comments about every style of vocal she uses and mention more than once how it clashes with another style, but for all the good it does, I might as well be a BP employee trying to stem the flow of BS from the Gulf (thanks, No Clean Singing for that astute reference). For all the various styles, it is incredible how it all blends into one massive pretty picture, kind of like the album cover.

I listen to alot of metal music, and I can tell you that this isn't your average metalcore band. If what I have said prior to this hasn't explained the music and how I feel about it, maybe a comparison will do. These guys sound like a cross between Within Temptation and Beneath the Sky. Yes, that ought to do it. If you like either of those bands, you might want to give The Agonist a listen or two. Even if you don't like either of the above mentioned bands, you still might take a liking to The Agonist.

This is very diverse, especially as it is founded upon the backbone of metalcore, and the musicians are all very talented. Go get this. I think you'll like it. Lullabies for the Dormant Mind conjures up 4.3/5 stars.

The Agonist my absolute favorite band!!! This CD with Thank You, Pain my favorite song that saved my life as well!!!!! This band especially cares about their fans on a personal level. Alissa White Gluz what tremendous power behind her vocals and excellent!!!!! NOT ONLY DOES SHE GROWL SHE ALSO HAS WHAT FEELS LIKE AN OPERA VOICE to me. She mixes in all of those which makes this even better of an album. The guitars well the whole band is just outstanding. I really cannot say enough good things on this CD. Since I own both CD's by The Agonist I can give this 2 thumbs up + my 8 fingers up as well. My hats off, my hands and arms up to The Agonist!!!!!

Let me preface by saying I was already an Agonist fan. I think this band has really phenomenal potential, I think they moved into new space technically with this album, but (if they stay together), the best is definitely yet to come. Recording a movement from Swan Lake with Alissa singing various notes as bound into a keyboard (or maybe Garage Band, it's so hard to tell here) is not a track I would have liked to see on the album. By the same token, the overall cohesion of The Sentient and Waiting Out the Winter felt substantially improved to me. Overall, I'm still waiting for The Agonist's best. So far they've only shown me intellectual exercises.

my computer recognizes this cd as the "once only imagined" album.
I tried to contact cdimport and amazon as well... have not received any responses. The music is all there but I think theres a problem somewhere that needs attention. whats wrong with this cd? is it a bootleg?
I have bought from cdimport several times, this is the only purchase I have any complains about.

If you are a fan of the first album, this is a must have. They have a great formula that works and in no way does this album dissapoint. Buy It.