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Band: Black Light Discipline
Album title: Death By A Thousand Cuts
Release Date: 7th March 2014
Label: Raw Entertainment
Tracklist:
01. Intro
02. Look At Me Now
03. On Fire
04. The Way We Wanted
05. Under The Knife
06. First Sign
07. Freaked
08. Electronic
09. Hell Is Around The Corner
10. Afraid Of Tomorrow
11. The Time Is Now
12. Syviin Vesiin
Death By A Thousand Cuts was my first encounter with Black Light Discipline (going by the acronym BLD), but that is because I was unaware of this Finnish industrial metal act, not because they are newcomers. Industrial and Scandinavian metal? I say hell yea! Formed in 2005, BLD has introduced itself to the scene in 2008 with its EP Humanography, which was succeeded by the first full length Empire in the same year and was followed by 2012’s Against Each Other. The five piece Scandinavian ensemble currently consists of Toni Valha on vocals, Janne Kankkunen behind the synth, Joonas Pulkkinen on the guitar, Jani Rissanen on the bass guitar and Veika Jokela on drums. The band has had a few line-up changes in their nine years of existence, but has been performing under this composition since 2011.
The absolute beauty of this band’s style is that it is delivering raw industrial metal. The heavy use of synthesizers and sampling, repeating and striking guitars riffs, straightforward rhythm section and use of slightly distorted vocals is what BLD’s building on. The most noticeable and enjoyable feature of Death By A Thousand Cuts is its sheer catchiness. Its sound manifests in melodic and memorable keyboard melodies combined with marching guitar riffs, which create tunes that will stick to your head, whether you like it or not.
I have been ranting just a wee bit before about the albums including superfluous intros as their openers and just so it happens, this album opens with “Intro”, which is nothing but a short cut of the following track “Look At Me Now”. Cutting it just doesn’t do it justice. It should be left as one lengthy song, with calmer introduction that explodes into massive sonic seduction, as its flamboyance is just what Death By A Thousand Cuts stands for. Incredibly dynamic and groovy, it holds all the characteristics of what is about to come. “Under The Knife” for instance, is another perfect example of how to equilibrate the synthesiser driven industrial overtone with a harder, metal sound. The beauty of this release is that all the elements are held in great balance. While the majority of the songs radiate impulsive and electric energy, the duo “Hell Is Around The Corner” and “The Time Is Now” present in a well-expressed, darker atmosphere. The album’s epilogue, “Syviin Vesiin” is the band’s first song in Finnish. But, for the pinnacle of the album, I would definitely choose “Freaked”. Oh boy, I had that song on repeat for days! Its captivating vigour is like an adrenaline injection and the guitar riff, which kicks in in the last third of the song, is so catchy and vivacious, it will definitely penetrate through your ear drums straight into your blood stream.
BLD’s sound may not be particularly ground-breaking or thought-provoking, but it draws electrifyingly beautiful landscapes. It’s dynamic, focused, well performed and well produced. It can either evoke your primary desire to move your body at a party or to head bang into a terrible whiplash. This album’s explosiveness and catchiness will definitely appeal to more open-minded listeners, who enjoy in various music styles, especially the industrial, dark electro and melodic metal rhythms. And I can image BLD can do some wretched performances, distributing the energy from the songs on the stage to the audience. So, just let go and allow yourself to be electrocuted by Death By A Thousand Cuts.
Review written by: Ines
Rating: 8,5/10
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