Separation of Sanity
The Crucible

A separation of sanity cannot be that healthy but then again, the world suggested on the cover art does not seem that healthy for anyone. Pretty cool artwork. This album called The Crucible is the first album by these guys, they have an EP on their CV since before but now they are making their first album. Not much interesting is really said about this album, there is the usual gibberish about whom they have shared the stage and their furious live shows and all of that. They say that they are pushing the envelope and such things.

So are they really pushing any envelope? Maybe they do push some envelope down a mailbox somewhere but when it comes to pushing the musical envelope they do not. It is thrash metal, a bit of groove and some touches of progressiveness can be heard, nothing unique and if you know the similar bands I can describe these guys as sounding more or less like those bands. Not really reinventing the wheel but they do what they do quite well; the production is good, good sound and everything. I do however think that they have made the album a little on the long side and that it is lacking a little bit in variation. But at the same time they do push the right buttons to appeal to fans of the genre, to those who are afraid of things that show any kind of evolvement.

I think that this is a relatively good album; it pushes the correct buttons for some fans. For me it lacks something, I have heard it many times but cannot really pick out any songs or anything, it doesn’t quite have anything that catches my attention – it lacks focal points. And it lacks originality; I have heard it all before and the ones they copy have more appeal. I think they take a little too cautious approach to what they do, maybe that is down to them making their debut and maybe not having the experience to explore more interesting routes. Still, there is a possibility that fans of the genre will find the album quite appealing – but there is plenty of room for doubt in that opinion.

The songs on the album are solid songs but nothing that really stands out from the rest we tend to hear on a daily basis. It is okay but really nothing more than that, those who like the similar bands might possibly like it but I do think that they will have to improve their originality a bit or their song quality a lot if they want to gather any larger interest for their music. This is a decent debut but I doubt it will be remembered for any significant amount of time.

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