Here it is, folks. The band I've been waiting to review my
whole life...I will be doing reviews of their older albums, too, because no
progressive/metal discussion could be complete without talking about a band as
innovative and influential as Candiria. Back when Meshuggah was releasing their
first offerings, Candiria was there as well...testing the water of bizarre
timings, redefining the term "groove", and combining seemingly
combative styles of music together with ease. The members of this band were trained
at Berkeley, and exercise a very dilligent discipline when approaching all
styles of music that they play. A lot of people became fans Between the Buried
and Me, Glassjaw, The Dillinger Escape plan, etc for much the same reason.
There is a combination of many styles that all centralize themselves towards a
very aggressive end result.
"Kiss the Lie" is a very different record from Candiria. If
you've never listened to them before, it might be best to take a dive into their
older work, and then smooth into this 2009 offering. This record displays the efforts of members
Carley Coma (Vocals, wind instruments), Kenneth Shalck (drums, percussion),
John Mallachia (guitars), and Michael McIvor (bass). John entered the band
before "Beyond Reasonable doubt, and became an
mainstay over the years. It was released on their own record label, Rising
Pulse Records.
This album was released on vinyl only, with a digital
download to accompany it. This was done since there were so many issues with
the record label they initially were working with to actually get it released.
Candiria's claim to fame in the beginning was intertwining
jazz, world beat, hip hop, structural elements of hardcore, and traces of metal
into their complex and overwhelming sound. This is a sound that early in the
90's the band described as "Urban Fusion". Although they released a couple albums
before, it was really "Process of Self Development" that helped them break through to mass appeal.
With epic, poetic lyric sheets fueled by the
most diverse poly-rhythmic drumming you ever heard in your life and some of the
most creative guitar and bass licks ever put onto vinyl, Candiria changed my
entire opinion on music in general.
Where a drum beat is traditionally used to keep pace and accent
guitars and repeat when necessary, the
drums in Candiria songs all have subtle accents that defy and comply with a
click track and the rest of the instrumentation all at once. The guitars, in earlier works, were the only
thing that you saw with any type of repetition; they played the role of the drums
and the bass. Even the bass lines (in contemporary and older work) defy the
song completely, and stray from the drum and guitar into it's own time
signature and composure.
After "Process..." you had "300% density" which is the most befitting name of any album ever made.
Imagine the boundaries that were defied in"Process..."and feed them human growth hormone and steroids. This album has a more furious jazz influence, many
arrangements floating in and out of each other creating a dizzying effect upon
listening.
And of course, the 2 album epic"The Coma
Imprint"that offered some ethereal, spaced out experimentation in
the midst of their furious jazz/metal/hardcore hybrid.
They moved into more mainstream, yet very complicated territory with
the album "What doesn't kill you", an album that was released after a near fatal accident sent
them all to the hospital with a couple years recovery time. They ended up with a pretty substantial
settlement, which showed in the production value of "What doesn't Kill
you", although I prefer the analog approach to "Process...". "What doesn't kill you" was
criticized heavily for having a 50/50 balance of their older, frenzied and
complicated songs with newer, simpler and catchier stuff. Compared to anything
coming out at the time, it was a breath of fresh air to hear something more
rock oriented and catchy that didn't sound like other trash.
Now that you have a little background of these musical
giants, we can delve into the mellower "Kiss the Lie". It is from start to finish, much mellower, rock
influenced offering. It includes a lot more singing than you might be used to
as a fan of Candiria. However, Carley
coma has a very impressive singing voice, so it is very easy to immerse
yourself into this style. Since this
album was not intended as an album to tour on, they put a lot of effort into
the vocal production and overall production which certainly will trip you out
upon a careful listen. There is some
screaming for sure, and it's used more of an addition to the overall song, not
as a mainstay from beginning to end. One thing you will not find on this record
that was on almost every Candiria album is the designated jazz arrangements and
hip hop experiments. This was not
audible on [b]"What doesn't kill you"also; and rightfully
so. The songs that lean more towards classical rock/edgy alternative just don't
hold together the same way with specific jazz arrangements. The deletion of
jazz from this album is very tasteful in this regard (even though their jazz
interpretation is some of the most wild and off the charts that I've ever
heard).
So, let's go through a few of this album's highlight songs
shall we?
"Reflection 11- It
has some very subtle, clean guitar tones, lots of buildup, crescendo, and
groove. Coma's whispering/singing really
take this song to an intimate level that has not been heard on previous
arrangements. Very inventive guitar and bass work as well. This one starts out
softer than any song on the album, but still packs a pretty heavy punch as it
continues.
"Icarus Syndrome:- This song
is a drummer's delight. Schalk plays a very simple live drum set, but also
brings in several percussive elements in this song. There is a very prevalent
bass line that leads this song to its various back and forth from heavy,
alternative riffing to to polyrhythmic, tribal drumming. Coma's vocals are as
catchy and brilliant as one could expect, with his screams sounding primal as
always.
"Sirens"- Here's another one
that combines hard rocking and casual, off timed verses in a very well balanced
way. Screaming is used often and a lot,
but not without some smooth singing to back it up. If there was a radio track off of this album,
this would probably be it...since the guitar really steals the show and is so
hard to get out of your head once you listen to it. The album's title is taken
from a line from this song.
"Legion" - If there was a
throwback song on this album, this is the one.
Trace elements of their old style (furious poly rhythms, hyper speed
double bass, and endless down-stroking over dissonant chords take you back to
the 300% density days while still maintaining an heir of catchiness that could
be found on "What doesn't kill you". Bass line is unbelievable also
in this song; Coma's vocal style crosses over emotionally charged speaking, and
very well executed singing, and BRUTAL screams in the midst of it all.
Overall, this album gets a little catchier and slower
as it progresses...Some songs at the end are more instrumentally driven without
lyrics, and are there to sort of smooth you into the next song. As an avid fan
of Candiria, I feel this is their most mature release yet. They are sadly not a band anymore. There is a wide selection of side projects, but one of the most surprising progressions of any band member
is Kenneth Schalk joining the alternative power ballad squad Fuel. As
astonishing as Candiria is to listen to on album, they are even more
unrelenting live. The last time I saw
them play live was around the time that "What doesn't kill you" came out. Candiria in my
humble opinion, is the most well rounded group ever assembled in rock
history. They were able to take so many
different styles of music, master them, and intertwine them into the most
original sound ever put together. Long live the legacy which is...CANDIRIA!
Written by Dennis Scelza
----------------------------------------------------------------------
CHAPTER 9 "Process of Self Development"
written by Carley Coma
"If I come of one, will you understand the depths of
me?; perceivable, I can only belong to the man in me. they no longer believe in
a cause
they amputate persuasive speech to entice; the human flaws I
move to associate.
we believe in the vision
we believe in the goals
we believe in the universe
and the hands that touch the soul
persecuted for my gaping jaws, bleeding the gums ,walking
with the dogs
the ultimate reality sense of all strength heals the
sores"
