Idensity - Official Website - Interview


Chronicles

France Country of Origin: France

Chronicles
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Type: Full-Length
Release Date: October 28th, 2013
Genre: Death, Melodic, Progressive
2. Дефект Mасс (Mass Defect)
3. Totentanz (Dance Of The Dead)
4. Смерть Hе Pоз'єднає Hас (Death Won't Separate Us)
5. Світ Mайбутнього (The Future World)
7. Де Cон Л'є Bологою З Bій (Where The Dream Flows As Moisture From Eyelashes)
8. Навстречу Hовой Заре (Towards A New Dawn)
9. Творець Життя (The Creator Of Life)
1. Chronicles
2. Over The Abyss
4. Mòfa
5. The Seven Seals
6. Antikhristos
7. Typhon
8. Islam
9. Annunaki
10. Mantra
11. Loki


Review by Luka on March 15, 2002.

Ahh, here we have the most famous work of the one we love to hate and hate to love. Adopting more and more musical changes and tried-&-true methods to make it in the North-American market, Rob has left the "Zombie" tradition and style yet further behind him. The phrase "sell-out" of the punk-rock ideology quickly comes to mind but it doesn't linger long after the mandatory mainstream singles "Dragula" and "Superbeast" are finished early in the recording. The real songs have a strong beat, catchy riffs, plenty of hooks, and of course old horror movie themes Rob is so famous for, definitely interesting!

Well I have to say that the insanely heavy and punchy guitar work of songs like 'Demonoid Phenomenon' and 'Meet the Creeper' took me completely by surprise! The simple but highly perfected mesh of modern heavy metal with techno brought to life and given a personality by constant sounds and clips from cheesy old horror flicks is a model example of originality to today's metal world. Not impressive in terms of musicianship and purpose, but this is sure as hell entertaining!

The fillers get annoying, yes, and there seems to be more of these than actual full-length compositions in the album's half hour. The songs stand strong on their lonesome but do not conform too much in an overall structure of the album and since the good tracks are few in number and always short, the CD seems to end way too quickly and not quite give you back in enjoyment what you paid for in cash. The other fault is the one that always plagues songs formulated to be simple and catchy, they get boring and they get boring fast! The hook you the first time, you buy the album, and then two months later you wouldn't recognize Rob if you ran into him on the street.

Now I'd be lying if I said I consider Rob Zombie nu-metal. He knows his way around in the music business and knows how to make an album sell and still make kick-ass music that avoids many sacrifices necessary in gaining popularity. Anyway, 'Living Dead Girl', 'Demonoid Phenomenon', 'Spookshow Baby', 'Meet the Creeper' and '...Phantom Stranger' are all choice pickings from "Hellbilly Deluxe". The rest are either filler or oversimplified singles. This is a hard album to swallow for traditional metal fans but it is different and very entertaining. Good party music!

Bottom Line: Immense popularity doesn't necessarily make the music quality bad! I sure as hell enjoyed it: original and very exciting.

Originality: 9
Musicianship: 5
Atmosphere: 9
Production: 8
Overall: 5

Rating: 7.2 out of 10

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Review by Tomek on January 18, 2014.

France strikes again - I thought to myself after listening to newest album of Idensity called Chronicles. After watching video to the song “Sekhmet”, I knew I needed to hear the whole album. It felt like something that I’ve missed for a long time finally reappeared. I felt like I found something that could be my next affection and I was right. I very much like being right. Timing was also just right and even though the album needed a few spins to open up for me it, the satisfaction it gave me is simply immense.

Chronicles are labeled as melodic progressive death but there is so much more to it. Death metal is a starting point with the aggressive sound of guitars, intense drumming, rumble of the bass and growling, but it is what happens around the main body it’s what makes this album such a great or should I dare to say grand composition. It is a mixture of many extra elements that are not just added to the main entity but are the one itself. Songs contain additions of different instruments and they create themes that work together to build the atmosphere and intensify the magnitude of this opus. I love every note on this album and cannot get enough of the middle-eastern melodies, female singing or spoken parts that sound like they’re from ancient times. I listen to the album and hear piano and orchestral parts being a part of melodic death metal and sounding like one could not exist without the other. Let’s not forget the violins that bring the whole experience to a new level with incredible and moving melodies. The base of the music is a death metal; melodic, progressive however we label or describe this, it takes a huge part in the whole composition but with the elements that I mentioned it becomes absolute force. I also have to mention vocal department to finalize my praise. Deep growl, clean singing (male or female or combined), spoken passages or screams are a huge factor in this recording and widen the range of Idensity quite tremendously. All those elements would not be making any marks if it wasn’t for the production on the album. Quality of the recording and mix of all instruments is remarkable, and with so much going on and the tempo of most of the songs everything is clear and sounds breathtaking. If that is not enough album starts to open up after few listens and continues to do so with every next one giving out a little more than the one before.

Chronicles is one of the best albums I’ve heard in 2013. Idensity is one of the most talented bands I’ve heard in 2013. They’ve created the album that is so astounding and so unique that it scares me to think what they will do next. On the other hand - I like to get scared and I cannot wait for their new release, but before that happens I’m gonna listen to Chronicles few more times. You should too!

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 9
Atmosphere: 9
Production: 9
Originality: 9
Overall: 9

Rating: 9 out of 10

  Views

Review by Tomek on January 18, 2014.

France strikes again - I thought to myself after listening to newest album of Idensity called Chronicles. After watching video to the song “Sekhmet”, I knew I needed to hear the whole album. It felt like something that I’ve missed for a long time finally reappeared. I felt like I found something that could be my next affection and I was right. I very much like being right. Timing was also just right and even though the album needed a few spins to open up for me it, the satisfaction it gave me is simply immense.

Chronicles are labeled as melodic progressive death but there is so much more to it. Death metal is a starting point with the aggressive sound of guitars, intense drumming, rumble of the bass and growling, but it is what happens around the main body it’s what makes this album such a great or should I dare to say grand composition. It is a mixture of many extra elements that are not just added to the main entity but are the one itself. Songs contain additions of different instruments and they create themes that work together to build the atmosphere and intensify the magnitude of this opus. I love every note on this album and cannot get enough of the middle-eastern melodies, female singing or spoken parts that sound like they’re from ancient times. I listen to the album and hear piano and orchestral parts being a part of melodic death metal and sounding like one could not exist without the other. Let’s not forget the violins that bring the whole experience to a new level with incredible and moving melodies. The base of the music is a death metal; melodic, progressive however we label or describe this, it takes a huge part in the whole composition but with the elements that I mentioned it becomes absolute force. I also have to mention vocal department to finalize my praise. Deep growl, clean singing (male or female or combined), spoken passages or screams are a huge factor in this recording and widen the range of Idensity quite tremendously. All those elements would not be making any marks if it wasn’t for the production on the album. Quality of the recording and mix of all instruments is remarkable, and with so much going on and the tempo of most of the songs everything is clear and sounds breathtaking. If that is not enough album starts to open up after few listens and continues to do so with every next one giving out a little more than the one before.

Chronicles is one of the best albums I’ve heard in 2013. Idensity is one of the most talented bands I’ve heard in 2013. They’ve created the album that is so astounding and so unique that it scares me to think what they will do next. On the other hand - I like to get scared and I cannot wait for their new release, but before that happens I’m gonna listen to Chronicles few more times. You should too!

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 9
Atmosphere: 9
Production: 9
Originality: 9
Overall: 9

Rating: 9 out of 10

  Views