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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
BUY THIS DISC!, May 31, 2008
I LOVE this new disc (Damage) from Anti-M. I have about 10,000 CDs so
for a disc to make it into regular rotation in my playlist is rare. The album moves me on a visceral level. Anti-M has a style that defies any one musical classification. A lot to appeal to a lot of people but they first have to find it. A lot of the music makes me think of a fusion of
Ronnie Montrose and Evanescence. On my Ipod Anti-M is listed as
industrial. Maybe the music is a little techno but for the most part
I'd call it hard rock. Even the cover is cool and predicts the emotion in the disc, spacy, dark, dreamy and of course damaged.
Since the music is hard to classify I thought I would break it down
song by song. Here we go.
1 .Dreaming in Metaphor- Love the bass. A lot of tension builds
here. Nice guitar work.
2. Let U In- Great vocals. Great riffs. A lot of radio potential.
3. Damage- A great rock song again with a lot of radio potential. Nice effects. Finish is excellent. Harmony vocals outstanding.
4. Deep- A fabulous ballad and perhaps the most amazing vocals on the
album by singer Barbara Moseley.
5. Rage- This song is an epic! Gives me the same feeling as "Kashmir". Great guitar leads and nice harmony vocals.
6. It's All Inside- Very Bowie-esque. Keyboard work is a nice change
of pace. Good guitars.
7. Little Things- Suzanne Vega meets techno with nice harmony vocals.
8. Beautiful Babe- Nice beat effects. Reminds me of "Let's Dance" by
Bowie. Haunting guitars and a dark ending.
9. Waitia While- A great slow song. Like the keyboard work.
10. Rose of Love- Really nice intro. Cool beat. The most hopeful
lyrics on the entire disc. Reminds me of what I remember the older discs by Anti-m were like. Could be a club or dance track. Powerful guitars.
11. Godzilla VS Rodan- Great effects. Reminds me of a thunderstorm.
12. Into The Rain- Another song with a lot of radio potential. Deep
despair here. Nice use of harmony vocals. Like hard rock Leonard Cohen / Nick Cave.
13. Incineration- Good driving beat and radio potential.
14. Shiver- Haunting fragment. Like a dark bit from an Evanescence song.
15. Damage in the Dream- Upbeat rhythm with despair-filled lyrics.
Very Darkwave or Goth (The Gathering).
16. THE SIXTH EXTINCTION - A long instrumental with a lot of
different emotions here. Starts sad, ends up like something from
"Strange Cargo" by William Orbit. I like it.
17. NO KILL I- A powerful closing track with great guitars on this
one. The album then closes with a reprise of the song Deep which is
just beautiful.
I love this disc!
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Satriani Meets William Orbit with a Bit of Bowie to Create a Masterpiece., April 3, 2008
By no means do I intend criticism of this fine work by the title above. "Damage," the latest release from Anti-M, melds many styles into a captivating composition; one that draws you in, challenges you, enlightens you, and subtlety demands listening. My first brush with this CD was met with judgment and skepticism. I remember thinking, "I don't like that guitar sound." I meant (as a fellow guitar player), rack-mounted, overly processed, distortion effects with signature metal licks. That thought came to me in the opening bars of "Let U In," but left prior to the song's conclusion. I like "Damage" - a lot. This is an amazing accomplishment for the apparently Santa Barbara-based[...] studio band. "Damage" does not disappoint.
The opening drones of the instrumental "Dreaming in Metaphor" set the stage for this journey. At the get-go the talent shines in chord voicing and chord choice. The ear is led to resolution that does not take place. Instead, a more interesting motif is presented, and the listener is beckoned to go further. When the guitar starts you are enticed to label this music, but the smart listener (not me first time around) resists. Do I hear Rush? Perhaps. The classical guitar flourish is tasty and provides excellent contrast. A repeat of the guitar melody leads us back to the drones.
"Let U In" snaps you to attention with its quick yet sensual opening cry. The listener is treated to their first introduction of the truly fantastic female vocalist. Benatarian verses and choruses explode with power and meaning. The arpeggio coda is a good touch.
The Title track, "Damage", sans-lyrics, displays excellent keyboard and guitar-doubled melodies. I may be wrong, but I hear acoustic drums as opposed to the prevalent use of drum machine. The china cymbal works well.
The diamond of this music walks into the room via "Deep." Sublime barely describes the level of perfection found here. The vocalist is celestial, evoking the Seraphim. I am unable to listen to this song too often.
The heavy guitaring in "Rage" holds this semi-instrumental down. The effects applied to the vocals, both overdubs and electronic effects, are well done. There is a definite middle-eastern tone achieved in several parts. As one of the longer pieces, it continues to introduce new material to the listener until it dissolves into drums and bass-like sounds.
The third name is this article's title shows up in "It's All Inside." The short break-out launched at 0:52 is fresh. It ends quickly, but resurfaces at 2:06. The vocals and composition are superb. What seem to be real drums accent this song well. The herald at the end gets your attention.
Syncopated lyrics in the verse lead off "Little Things." The Pop sound of this song would make an excellent soundtrack for the latest "chick flick." I hope the band takes that as a compliment -- those songs make a lot of money! Direction: "As theme song ends, dissolve to long shot of coffee shop on rainy day."
David shows up again in "Beautiful Babe," both in the lyrics and the timbre. In a change of mood, the female vocalist arrives, calls to the man...and he answers. Then two are one. The sensuality of this song is undeniable.
"Waita While" takes a very different direction. Moody, searching, and longing melodies are woven into this tapestry. The underlying piano holds this piece together while new tones are introduced throughout.
Plucked notes (on the bass?) start "Rose of Love." The mix of Devo and falsetto works for this electronica. Although the guitar will not let you forget that this is pure rock.
"Godzilla vs Rodan" demonstrates excellent synthesizer composition, tone sculpting and sound mixing. The syncopation keeps this piece interesting.
The wonderful ballad "Into the Rain" is an effective bridge to the hard-cutting "Incineration." The guitar here defies criticism. Wow! The guitar is mated with majestic soaring keyboard lines until it all slides down to a slow dark dirge that is "Shiver." I am not completely sure what "Shiver" warns of, but I'll be sure to avoid it.
Two longer pieces draw the record to its close. "Damage in the Dream" could be seen as repetitive of other styles and material previously presented, yet it presents its message. Dream leads the listener to "The Sixth Extinction" which mixes traditional piano, classical styles and Rick Wakeman inspired runs into a technical fury. The guitar enters to give us a quick lesson before the piano finishes us off.
If you thought Anti-M got soft, "No Kill I" pushes that aside. Guitars and keys knock your head off. Anti-M always finds the melody, (an attribute of most Yes songs as described by Jon Anderson in almost any interview). The lyrics tell us "goodbye," the guitar and drums push us out the door to the gates of hell........but we are met by the angel once again ----- the crystal notes of "Deep" return and are matched with a lone music box, as we look into the lonely eyes so Deep.
This is a masterpiece.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Is that a didgeridoo?, March 3, 2008
Sometimes I get to the point where I am just tired of listening to music, and I want to try something different. This album has a distinct crispness and elegance to it. It fits, like a comfortable pair of shoes, yet the songs are not just tired, cookie-cutter replicas of each other. Some tracks are instrumentals, some have a female vocalist, some have a male vocalist.
The artwork underscores the mood. The music is dark, but also dreamlike. The production quality is really quite excellent. The band has something to say. Art is more important than just throwing another album out there.
An eclectic blend of instruments and genres. As I was listening to Dreaming In Metaphor, I took a double take-is that a didgeridoo!? Sure as hell. Different. Bold
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