Customer Reviews

Sick Transit Gloria Mundi

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Ok, maybe the title of my review is a little oversimplified, but that is the feeling I got when I listened to this for the first time, which was approx. 5 hours ago. I got turned on to it after hearing a track on Relapse's "Contaminated" compilation cd,and I just had to hear more. This is probably the best blend of metal and electronics I've heard since early Fear Factory. Neither element dominates over the other, and compliment each other nicely. It's got all of the "cyber-metal" elements (hence the Fear Factory reference), but the structure and experimentation give it a surreal element, like you would hear from Al Jourgensen. Inject a little of Relapse's trademark "hypergrind" feel and the result is one incredibly creative and brutal cd. I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 because there are some places where the songs start to drone on and get a little self-indulgent, and I feel as though I have a pretty good attention span, but don't push it. Some songs could use a little shortening to avoid that.

Red Harvest is basically a mix of Ministry, Jesu, Coroner, Mayhem, Godflesh, and Skinny Puppy. If this sounds scattershot and lacking a sound of its own to you, well, you haven't listened to em yet. Red Harvest is punishing, brutal, efficient, and coldy beautiful, like with the intervals in the first song, AEP.

The songs all have lives of their own yet tie together well, as the best albums in any genre do. Crushing riffs combined with spacey techno/industrial beats and effects, overlaid with Ofu Kahn's relentless vocalizing: he may not have much variety in his somewhat one-note delivery, but I'll be damned if he doesn't fit the music's bleakness perfectly. Think of his vocals as an instrument, and you'll do fine.

The first four songs are a perfect start to the album. They sum it up, in its entirety. AEP is the juggernaut high-octane opener, with a wall of noise for riffs, some bass-driven interludes with female vocalizations, and a chain of riffs near the end that is damn near perfect. Godtech is slower, but still insanely brutal and riff-reliant, the Jesu side of the band (I know Jesu didn't show up till after this record was released, humor me) with some really awesome vocal hooks (strange, innit?) and strange electronic effects. Humanoia= Ministry song with different production. Not a bad thing, not at all, especially considering the catchy lyrics (for once.). Very good shout-along, thrash-around song.

Dead is the Godflesh side of the band, with more vocal effects on Ofu's whisper, and a reliance on industrial beats and sounds. It's very creepy, almost, and definitely disenheartening. Almost like Fear Factory, from their Fear Is the Mindkiller EP, but definitely more desolate and bleak-sounding.

The rest of the album is just as good as those songs, the one possible weak link being 'Dead Men Don't Rape,' but I like that song anyway.

Buy it.

Ta,

Nephren-Ka.

I hate to sound like an elitist, but the guys who gave this album bad ratings were obviously not in tune with what extreme music is about. "Sick Transit Gloria Mundi" combines black & death metal with industrial & noise, with previously unheard of success. While Red Harvest's last album "Cold Dark Matter" was pretty good, I find this album to be more instantly likeable (possibly because it has more metal elements, which I prefer). I don't remember hearing much of these death-style growls on the last album, but I like them better than the black metal screech. For those of us who are sick of recycled ideas, Red Harvest comes through sounding very original and focused, while avoiding aimless experimenting.

If you have an understanding of aggressive or dissonant music, you might just enjoy this noisy yet intelligently musical disc.

If there was a time where a band got me into the mixture of cold, apocalyptic Industrial Metal mixed with a hybrid mix of Thrash and Black/Death Metal, this is it.

Formed in 1989 as an avant garde thrash metal project, releasing two EPs and their full length album in 1992 Nomindsland, the band added some industrial elements, showing the band evolving into the band we know now. After the releases of There's Beauty In The Purity Of Sadness, The Mazturnation and Hybreed, the band showed change in their work with their NewRage World Music EP and their 2000 release Cold Dark Matter. The band follows the progression of those two, but a little more polished and imrpoved.

The band starts off with a bang (and I mean a BANG!) with AEP (Advanced Evolutionary Progression) as fast, furios adrenaline rush with thrashing guitar riffs and technical drumming and demonic vocals (along with some clean vocals) provided by frontman Ofu Kahn with some of the most hypnotic electonic sampling provided by LRZ.

Things slow down a bit with the more Sludgy, but still cold and chaotic Godtech, providing more sampling from LRZ and a more deeper apocalyptic tone and perspective than AEP. A bio-mechanical hell indeed. Things start going fast again with Humanoia with faster drumming and heavy guitar work.

Then surprisingly, we get the catchy, though still cold Dead. The drums here got a real mechanical feel to them and the sampling here gives the song a bit of a Terminator tingling to it.

Cybernaut is a heavy thrash song with some fine Sepultura-esque guitar work, groovy drumming and a fine moment for LZR to show off with his technological equipment.

Things start to take an epic turn with one of their finest Red Harvest tunes to date with Beyond The End. After a bizzare, apocalyptic start, things start turning heavy when the guitars and drumming start showing up with Ofu Kahn providing us with his vocals, when things start slowing down with Ofu Kahn providing some clean vocal work along with his screaming.

Things start to take a very different turn with the more electronic tune Desolation. After a few minutes with a slow atmosphere and Ofu's deep singing, the song shifts into deeper territory with a real industrial vibe with marching beats, heavy use of electronics and Ofu Kahns shouting vocals.

Then we go back to typical Red Harvest material the album's title track Sick Transit Gloria Mundi. A nice little vision of the end of the world, with some nice atmospheric sampling, trashing guitar riffage, Ofu's shouting vocals and groovy drumming.

The band then moves along with Dead Men Don't Rape, a cover to the G.G.F.H. original.

The band moves along with WeltSchmertz. After a slow start with LRZ showcasing of sampling, things start to turn heavy with Ofu Kahns screaming and thrashing drumming and then the guitars come along, a nice flow of groovy industrial black metal thrash and then the album ends with the slow, groovy instrumental Dead End.

If you're fan of Godflesh, Fear Factory, Ministry or Aborym, my friends, you will definitely love this album.

A nice unique brand of Industrial Metal.

Red Harvest were spawned in Norway. Even without that piece of information it's easy to make a rough guess of their geographical location. You can't make this kind of music in Hawaii. Red Harvest are cold, harsh, and grating, the kind of music you expect to hear in a Terminator movie. Closest comparison would be early(ish) Fear Factory. But unlike Fear Factory, Red Harvest aren't the least bit interested in sounding melodic, instead sticking to their (machine) guns with statacco beats, disembodied vocals and paint-peeling guitars. They can occasionally be accused of being of losing the script and getting trapped in their own repetetiveness, but at their best their sound is bleak and terrifying, everything you want in 'cyber-metal' music.

Awesome... this band makes some very intense work for its niche. This probably isn't for people who use "Pimp" in their usename.

I got turned on to Red Harvest a while back by way of their Sick Transit Gloria Mundi album and haven't been able to stop listening since. This album does such a wonderful job of creating a really bleak, desolate feeling. I guess you'd say its like industrial black metal. Imagine Godflesh, Ministry and Darkthrone jamming together and that gives you somewhat of an idea as to what this sounds like.

Brilliant, this album is a masterpiece. The carcass-esque drumming, bleeding-throat vocals straight from a morbid angel album and the incredible riffing that the two (or three) cook up...if you dont like industrial mayhem, dont listen to this album...its as close to an industrial death metal hybrid as you can go...fast, punchy and well mixed...tracks AEP and Beyond the end are highlights on an all-round brilliant album- godflesh for a new millenium

I dont know wot kind of lightweights wrote the last two reviews but this album is fat!

i did know wot kind of light weights wrote the last two reviews but this albim is fat.