Pretest

Dysrhythmia | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 13, 2003)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Relapse
• ASIN: B00008ZZA7
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #187,659 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Unbleievable Album, August 7, 2003

By 

Shanghaied (Carrollton, TX United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pretest (Audio CD)

This band has really caught my attention. A very close friend of mine recommended them to me, making the extremely bold claim that they had an almost "new school" King Crimson type sound to them. I'm not quite sure how accurate that comparison is after the fact, but it inticed me to give them a try and I can tell you that having heard this album I definetely know these guys have something alot of other bands don't; foresight and musical expression.

The music is very dynamic and skillfully executed. They remind me a lot of a 60's power band with a very strong metal flavor. Not a single word in any language whatsoever is uttered on this album, it is purely instrumental. I personally love instrumental music, but Pretest doesn't seem like an album where an acquired taste for wordless music is a must. The guitar and basswork are extremely complex and consistent throughout the entire album. Unlike King Crimson however, the time signatures on Pretest, while interesting in their own right, are not as complicated or abstract leading to a much more accessible and transient sound.

Dysrhythmia is definetely something to get excited about. These guys have a lot of talent and a lot of insight. If you have any interest in metal with profound guitarwork you owe it to yourself to give this one a shot.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An overlooked masterpiece, October 31, 2005

By 

Johnny (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pretest (Audio CD)

Dysrhythmia's Pretest is an incredible instrumental album. The first thing I notice when I read bad reviews of this cd is that those listeners are ultimately approaching the album in completely the wrong way.

Some complaints are that this sounds amateur, like it was recorded in a garage, or dissonant and poorly written. You have to first realize that this band has their roots (or at least some type of appendage) in the metal scene. If you are approaching this as a metal fan, the raw production style and dissonant, non-conventional song structures are a big part of the appeal. People who call this music poorly written or unprofessional are simply just looking for a more conventional, polished sound--which they aren't going to get here.

On the other side of the coin are the people who are expecting this to be more metal than it actually is. This band may be connected to the metal scene, but in the actual style of music they play I can hardly find a trace of metal. These are melodic, moody, beautiful pieces of music that I would consider more an outshoot of the post-rock genre with bands like Explosions in the Sky or Red Sparowes. Your typical relapse records fan probably will find this album weak and boring, because in all honesty this is not a metal album. The only metal element I hear on this album is the down tuned, rumbling, thunderous bass. This adds an interesting heavy contrast to the guitars which are generally not "heavy" at all.

Like all ground breaking albums, this lies at the crossroads of many different genres--metal, prog rock, and ambient post-rock to name the influences I see. This very fact make it un-accessible to the more traditional members of each sub-genre who want the band to play inside the lines. If you can listen to this album with an open mind to elements of metal, jazz, ambient, and progressive music you will find a very rewarding album.

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Reading this review again a few years later, I just have to laugh at the Relapse comment in light of the direction the label took. Of course they still have the obligatory low tier deathgrind bands.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars HYPNOTIC, DISORIENTATING INSTRUMENTAL ROCK ON RELAPSE, June 8, 2003

By 

"altlover" (London, UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pretest (Audio CD)

This is the third release by Dysrhythmia recorded by Albini, and their first record on the metal/grind/noise label Relapse. Dysrhythmia bare strong similarities with Oxes and Don Caballero, crafting expansive, textural, metallic compositions, and if your into those bands check this out. The bass playing on this album is also amazing giving their songs a heavy and driving quality.

Also check out the Cancer Conspiracy's 'Audio Medium', they play huge progressive instrumental rock, but have now sadly spilt up.