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In
former times I reviewed Endless’ second album ‘Vital
# 1’. This was a graceful gothic metal CD with plain influences
of Sentenced and Paradise Lost. Meanwhile the band took no time to
rest, a new album was written and in Petr Hutin they have found a
new bass player. With this album they recently won the Czech Grammy
Award in the ‘hard ‘n’ heavy’ category, for the second time.
I
have to admit that in the beginning this Endless new style in the
shape of ‘Perfect Message’ was not an easy case. Some of the songs
sounded inconsequent and the music was more complex and packed than
before. It just takes a little more time before getting along with
the songs. Further investigation recommended.
There
are still a lot of atmospheric intros on this album, but in general
‘Perfect Message’ sounds heavier than its precedent. We already
notice it in ‘Between A Rock And A Hard Place’ built on heavy riffs
and grunts. But there are moments of clean vocals too, yearning
whisperings and melodic guitar-lines. Sometimes it reminds me of a
heavier version of Killing Joke. And here we are at the point of
discovering some subtle alternative elements in Endless’ music. They
just finished a video clip for ‘363 Days’. ‘No Cover’ is a calmer
one, sung in a sensitive way, but evolves to a muscular shellfire.
The whole album is based on two different kind of vocals, one
accompanied by crusty riffs, the other lovely surrounded by delicate
guitar play. Names as Soulfly, Fear Factory and Tool passed my mind,
but just a bit different.
At
the sixth track called ‘Need To Rest For A While’ we can indeed take
a rest for this is an attractive piece of instrumental know-how.
Further on we meet more alternative elements but a permanent
fraction of every song are the energetic outbursts in the middle of
moments of respective calmness.
Endless chose once again for a production of Jan Nemec and the album
got a German mix and mastering in Hannover and Bremen. It has a lot
more power and rage in it than before. The band sounds more mature
and seems to have found its own identity. |
