300 Percent Density

Candiria

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 1, 2001)
• Original Release Date: May 1, 2001
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Century Media
• ASIN: B00005IBEZ
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #70,480 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Few sights in a metal dance pit are funnier than watching a few hundred sweaty fanatics stumbling over the nonrepetitive meter of a Candiria groove. The Brooklyn band's streetwise slam possesses crushing physical power, but doesn't dole out those beats in standard measurements. Their hardcore-metal crossover is spliced seamlessly to jazz fusion. Candiria have had their ideas set since day one, and the band's steadily growing success has simply brought greater resources to refine the approach. 300 Percent Density carefully places a few thousand more crunching Sepultura-style staccato guitar notes in the service of this swimming storm of heavy, shrieking math, and "The Obvious Destination" bravely employs Martin Denny-style vibraphone for the sake of momentary bliss. It's all about not knowing what comes next: an out-of-body experience or an elbow to the head. --Ian Christe

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars People don't like this album?, December 18, 2002

By	Wheelchair Assassin (The Great Concavity) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

I think the highest compliment I can pay to Candiria is that they take hardcore, extreme metal, jazz, hip-hop, and progressive rock sounds, throw them all together, and make it sound completely natural. Candiria have an originality and eclecticism that never comes across as forced or pretentious. They're just thoroughly committed to exploring the stylistic and technical possibilities of heavy music, and I for one think they're exactly the band to do it. "300 Percent Density" is the latest, and arguably greatest, example of Candiria's almost unparalleled songwriting and musicianship. Candiria have a knack for composing songs that have creative and irregular time signatures, but are still highly listenable. Their riffing and drumming may well be the heaviest this side of death metal, and the precision of the attack is mind-blowing. This isn't just a band out to steamroll the listener with their heaviness; Candiria manage to create some very complex and interesting song structures that put virtually every band on the radio to shame. Vocalist Carley Coma, apparently in an effort to push the human voice as far as it will go, spits out his growled vocals with a flow that most rappers would envy (or at least they should). The band does also do a couple of rap songs on this album, but even for a non-rap fan like me they have some appeal. Candiria's rap songs bear somewhat of a resemblance to those of A Tribe Called Quest, whose sense of musicality made them one of the few rap acts I could listen to, and they provide a nice break from all the heaviness. I really have to wonder about the people giving this album negative reviews. I understand and respect the opinions of others, but I think with a little close listening the greatness and uniqueness of Candiria becomes apparent pretty quickly. I find "300 Percent Density" to be an album of the highest quality, and I highly recommend it.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A defense..., January 24, 2002

By	"maldoror_de_sade" (the HI state) - See all my reviews

I'm appalled to see the amount of one star ratings for this album which brings down the avg. customer rating down (Though I suspect it's all by the same person for the 12/10/01 reviews...It's probably even the same guy who's giving all those negative reviews for God Forbid's "Determination" also!). This new album by Candiria, one of the most creative bands today, is nothing short of spectacular. They're still doing what they've been doing, certainly not anything groundbreaking, but definitely not any worst. They're still combining the hardcore/metal riffs and screams, with the unsuspecting jazz interludes, and even some rap thrown in for good measure, except in "300% density", they've got better production; everything sounds crisp, and harsher than before. Some of the best songs ever created by Candiria are on here, like the opening title track, and "Constant Velocity Is As Natural As Being At Rest", opening with a jazz instrumental before shredding you with their trademark riffs and Coma's harsh screams, and then going back again to the jazz part.

Sure, the mixing of genres has been done before, but never by a hardcore band; Zorn, Bungle, Boredoms (and even by much earlier groups) etc. have been mixing genres for years, but they were never true hardcore bands. Seems like it comes down to between the people who are still the fans, loving the stuff the most creative hardcore band today is putting out and glad they're getting more press, and the elitists who feel that when a band is slightly changing their sound, or have been featured in Rolling Stone (the best new band ever featured in that wretched magazine) and coming out soon with, gasp!, a music video, they're selling out, and desert them looking for the next big "secret." The secret is out, Candiria is THE band to change the way an unsuspecting public listens to radio. The defense rests.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Contents Under Pressure , January 26, 2006

By	Sunshine the Werewolf (Canada) - See all my reviews

CANDIRIA - 300 % Density
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Some people just don't get... which is truly sad. The second someone blends Hip-Hop with Hardcore everyone cries "Nu-Metal" I can assure this is nothing of the sort. First things first they bring sincerity back to hip-hop which is lacking in the music industry. This is not the Bling-Ho Rap of 50 Cent, this is Hip-Hop in its truest form. On top of Blending, Hardcore, Metal and Hip-Hop they fuse it all together with free-style Jazz. Musically these cats have no shortage of talent. The guitar work is great and the Bass and Drum work is astonishing to say the least. Carley's vocals are fantastic, whether it be his scream, yell or his smooth flowing raps.
As creative and unique of an album as it is, it seems at times to lack cohesiveness... Some of the shifts are a bit jagged in their transitions, other than that it is a very solid release. Easily worth more than a few listens.
Favorite Songs: Constant Velocity is as Natural as Being at Rest, Channeling Elements and Without Water.
4.25 Stars.

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