arcane-beautiful This album has done something which is very rare...and bands really shouldn't do this.

Now I've know these guys for a while now, and I don't have their first 2 album,s but I've heard songs from each, and I really like them.When I saw this album in a CD shop, I had to get it, just to kind of at leat own something from these guys.

I sat down ready to listen away, and then regretted it. For half an hour I was thinking, "Oh my God, this is just boring. And not that good." By the 4th song, I kind of wanted to turn it off, but only one album has actually made me turn a CD off before I finished it before (Metallica's Death Magnetic, that final instrumental was just boring as hell). Then track 5 came on and I went "This is actually a really good song"...and then it got better as each track went on.

That's really not a nice thing to do to someone. Torture them slightly for half and hour, and then pamper them the next. Sadly thats what happened. The first 4 songs are just not that great, in fact, very tedious at times, and quite annoying. Then the last 4 are so good that it kind of makes you regret thinking such bad thoughts about the band beforehand.

Now these guys are progressive metal...kind of...sort off. Well its hard to even really label these guys. Their unqiue...yet you can hear their influences clearly, yet also make them their own sound. It's great what they do, but hard when you want to describe them. I always thought they sounded like Nevermore at times, but that's mainly because of the vocals. To be honest, their just a metal band, with no real sub genre, although they do have lengthy tracks, and I mean all of their songs are over 5 minutes and can even reach the 10 minute mark. The guys can oddly enough pull it off. How they do it, I don't know, it just seems to work.

The album also seems to be a concept album, dealing with themes of existentionalism (for the first 4 songs, it really suits the mood), creation, existence, religion, time and purpose of life.

Now for the first half an hour, you will start to look like the girl on the cover...but don't worry...soon you'll like this ...> :D

It's also good to see a band from Norway, where the members don't have silly black metal nicknames (if i had a black metal nickname it would be Ygg, cause its Norwegian for the wicked one...ooooohhhh)

Now if you do buy this album, warning...it does get good. I mean really good.

1. On Ancient Ground - I have to admit, this main riff is kick ass. The song builds up pretty well at times, but the chorus is annoying. The song is cheesy at times, and the words "ancicent" "ground" and "SACRIFICE!" are said about a billion times, and they don't get better with repitition. Although...that is one good riff. 8/10

2. The Abandoned One - I like the Metallica esque chugging in the main riff. Nice enough chorus, but it's quite lifeless really, and it only makes the song more boring. 7/10

3. Becoming Of Man - The dramaticism is pretty cool. The lyrics and concept are pretty interesting. The song isn't that bad, and can be pretty cool at times, but it's still a bit bland now and then. 7/10

4. Payment Of Existence - Some of the changes are very random and don't make sense. Some kick ass riffs, and some ok moments, I guess. Pretty forgetfull.

5. Through The Labryinth Of Years - THE CHANGEAROUND!!! The song is really good. The chorus is really kick ass, especially the bridge after it. I love the melodic feel to it too. 10/10

6. Raven's Cry - I really didn't expect antything from this song, cause the title seemed a bit clichéd. But it just really turns into something pretty amazing. The intro is really cool, and the chorus kicks alot of ass. I love how the song changes from quite a slow song into a very kick ass metal song. The instrumental section also is really impressive, cause it really shows what these guys are capable of. Great arrangement, and some really kick ass vocals, especially in the chorus. 10/10

7. Unpredicabilities Of Life - Best song on the album in my opinion. The main riff is really kick ass. The chorus is amazing and the build up throughout the song really is killer. The vocals are also amazing, especially in the chorus. 10/10

8. Stone Carved Eyes - Wow! That intro is one hell of a way to start a song. Great chorus and a great arrangement keeping you on your feet. It's also not that repetitive, so it intrigues you more.

CONCLUSION: If this was an e.p...and the last 4 songs where on it, I would give it 4 or even a 5. But because the first half is very week, 3 will have to do (the first half would get a 2 at the most). I was gonna sell this album...but now I might keep it...just for those last 4 songs.

Time Signature In silence with my metal...

Genre: dark power metal with progressive tendencies

Power metal from Europe has received a bad reputation and is often criticized for being too lighthearted and silly and, worst of all, terribly cheesy. I don't mind metal which is lighthearted, but I am not too fond of too much cheesiness. Anyway, not all European power metal is lighthearted or silly or cheesy. Communic is a prime example of power metal from Europe with a very different atmosphere than the stereotypical one.

Communic delivers dark and quite heavy power metal with a melancholic feel and plenty of darkly epic atmosphere bolstered with progressive elements every now and then. But things never really get too grandiose, and there is absolutely no cheesiness or other Euro power metal sillinesses.

The guitars are downtuned, which means that this album has an overall quite heavy sound - there is a tendency to use clean guitars in the verses, and with the band performing these on downtuned guitars, even the melancholic and melodic verses have a certain oppressive darkness to them. Although there are plenty of awesome groovy and uptempo sections, heaviness is a characteristic of this album, and some tracks like "Denial" and "In Silence with my Scars" contain some almost doomy passages.

In addition to "Denial" and "In Silence With My Scars", mentionworthy tracks are "My Fallen", which is darkly melodic and contains some very nice classic-yet-different sounding riffage, and the darkly epic "Destroyer of Bloodlines" (another track with classic-yet-different riffs in it) as well as the more mellow, but no less dark, "Wayward Soul".

Oddleif Stensland's vocals are potent - and, with his darker register, more in the US power metal vein, but also with some quasi-operatic vibrato. His style of singing may be an acquired taste, but I certainly think he is a very gifted vocalist and that his powerful voice suits the nature of the music on this album very well; his singing certainly is one of the main contributors of the dark epicness mentioned above.

Recommended to fans of dark power metal everywhere.

UMUR "Waves of Visual Decay" is the 2nd full-length studio album by Norwegian metal act Communic. The album was released in May 2006 by Nuclear Blast Records. The "regular" version of the album contains seven tracks. The limited edition comes with two bonus tracks. Both tracks are also featured in this version on the band´s 2004 "Conspiracy in Mind" demo and also appeared in re-recorded version on the 2005 "Conspiracy in Mind" full-length studio album. "Waves of Visual Decay" was produced by prolific Danish producer/ musician Jacob Hansen.

The music on the album is semi-progressive thrashy power metal and just as the case was on the debut album a comparison to Nevermore is not that far off the mark. lead vocalist/ guitarist Oddleif Stensland has a voice and a singing style that is so similar to the voice and singing style of Warrel Dane ( Nevermore, Sancturary) that it´s impossible not to notice it and mention it. There are moments on this album that sounds unmistakably like Nevermore ( albeit without the outstanding guitar playing by Jeff Loomis) and I´m a bit biased if I think that´s a strength or a weakness. Communic generally has a more epic progressive style that sets them apart from Nevermore, but there are more similarities than differences IMO.

The seven tracks on the 57:54 minutes long album are all between 6 and 9 minutes long and all feature hook laden choruses, heavy thrashy/ power metal riffing, occasional keyboard backing and those paatos filled powerful clean vocals by Oddleif Stensland. While I could have wished for a more raw and stripped down appoach at times, it´s still a winning formula IMO. All tracks on "Waves of Visual Decay" are quality compositions, the playing is impeccable and with a powerful production to boot, this album spells quality all the way.

One of my complaints about the debut album was that the songwriting was a bit formulaic and vers/ chorus based, and that´s unfortunately also true on "Waves of Visual Decay". Vers/ chorus based songwriting isn´t always a problem for me, but as both the vers and the chorus sections are as long as they are on this album, I´m kind of bored by the time the band repeat themselves for the third time, but that´s my only complaint about the album and of course this is also an aquired taste. If Communic could so to speak "cut a bit of the fat" they would appeal more to me. Still a 3.5 - 4 star rating is warranted. While this may not appeal as much to me as I had hoped for I never deny quality handcraft and that´s exactly what "Waves of Visual Decay" is. A positive step up from the debut.

UMUR Conspiracy in Mind is the debut full-length studio album by Norwegian power metal act Communic. Guitarist/ vocalist Oddleif Stensland and drummer Tor Atle Gabrielsen-Andersen left Scariot after the Strange to Numbers (2003) album to form Communic and they drafted bassist Erik Mortensen to complete the lineup. Conspiracy in Mind was released by Nuclear Blast Records in 2005.

The music style on the album is power metal with some thrash metal and some progressive metal leanings. The music is generally very heavy yet melodic. Communic are often compared to Nevermore and while there are many differences between the two bands, there´s certainly some merit to that comparison. The fact that Oddleif Stensland´s voice at times sound very similar to the voice of Warrel Dane doesn´t help to lessen the comparisons. The 7 tracks on the album are generally very long, ranging from 6 to almost 11 minutes. Some of the tracks have what I would call slightly progressive leanings but the overall style is still heavy power metal. The musicianship is excellent throughout and the songs are generally well written and contain enough sections to hold my attention. The songs are a bit too formulaic in the end though and I could do without hearing the vers/ chorus part 3 times in each song, which also means that most of the tracks overstay their welcome by a couple of minutes. It isn´t a major issue but enough to keep the album from being really excellent.

The production by Danish producer Jacob Hansen is good but nothing out of the ordinary.

Conspiracy in Mind is a good debut album by Communic, but there are flaws that keep me from giving it a real high rating. All the elements are there for future greatness though and I´m looking forward listening to their later albums to see if the potential is fulfilled. A 3 - 3.5 star rating is deserved.