Perhaps it’s the placement of the two most momentary tracks near the end of the album, the band could have benefited from swapping them with the song trilogy at the start, which would have made more sense as ‘Hail Science’ would have been slightly more acceptable as an introductory track and ‘Autotheist Movement’ would have been a perfect close to the album, spacing out Keene’s plentiful vocals more as to not make them as overwhelming. It’s definitely not a short album, but it certainly feels short. On the other hand, it’s weird to criticize Autotheism for being over too soon, as it’s technically the band’s longest record to date, clocking in at 40 minutes, give or take. There’s nothing at all wrong with short albums, and in some cases they’re preferred as they tend to promote replay value, but in this case, it feels like something’s missing. That, and it almost feels like the band are trying to usher you towards the finish line, and even then, it’s all over before you know it. It’s not entirely bad, but you kind of get the feeling it was tacked on last minute to extend the track list length by one. Its only real use is to segue us into ‘Hymn Of Sanity’ which is essentially one and a half minutes of Keene being an overzealous and enthusiastic guitarist. Seriously guys? The track would have been acceptable had it been strictly instrumental, (something akin to ‘Shape Shifters’) but it tends to fall flat completely. The monologue ends on a rather pretentious note when the voice claims “.An age in which The Faceless will have to say we told you so”. A very brief orchestral intermission only made worse by coupling it with an uninspired monologue which is read out by what seems to be a text-to-speech voice. For example, ‘Hail Science’ is a flat-out terrible track. It doesn’t reach the quality of some of the other material, but also doesn’t stoop so low as well. The track is very well constructed, and enjoyable to listen to, but not very memorable overall. ‘Ten Billion Years’ features the fall of the band’s songwriting abilities. It’s arguable to say that the trilogy is the best part of the whole album, and some of the best songs of the band’s career thus far. The exception to the rule is of course the three-part opening track of ‘Autotheist Movement’ where Keene takes center-stage with his heavy and melodic guitar work. The chorus of ‘The Eidolon Reality’ is a notable exception in this field, as some of the album’s vocal hooks are downright catchy, but the riffing and shredding is no where near as memorable as some of the band’s other work (‘Leica’ comes to mind). Clean vocals have always worked favours for The Faceless in the past (‘Sons Of Belial’ was my personal favourite from 2008s Planetary Duality), but with a heavier dosage this time around, they tend to lose impact come the second half of the record. Keene’s vocals are used in a much more liberal fashion this time around, so it’s just as well his voice is capable, albeit recycled. Perhaps that title is a subtle nod to Devin himself? The comparison is uncanny and the imitation nearly immaculate, most notable throughout ‘Accelerated Evolution’. Even to the point where I wouldn’t argue if I was told it was really Townsend himself doing guest vocals, as ludicrous as that sounds. Some might argue Keene’s channeling of Mikael Akerfeldt or even Jerry Cantrell in some parts, especially towards the very start of the album, but the most obvious is that Keene has a clear Devin Townsend influence. Ficco and Keene’s vocals are layered here, bouncing between clean and heavy vocals, sometimes with the use of vocoder backing them. Ficco’s harsh vocals fills the spot that is clearly influenced by Rydquist, but at the same time isn’t trying to emulate him. Newcomer Geoffrey Ficco is an adequate vocalist and a fantastic replacement for Derek Rydquist. The founding father and driving force behind The Faceless’ technical and frenetic sound, Keene hasn’t lost a step in terms of songwriting. Compliment has to be given to Michael Keene’s fantastic guitar work as always. The record opens with a fantastic orchestral section, as well as developing more of an industrial sound. So after such a great absence, does Autotheism live up to their standards and was it worth the delay? After four years of anticipation, Californian Death Metal outfit, The Faceless, have finally released their third album. Review Summary: Autotheism shows The Faceless expanding on their sound on every front, and somewhat regressing from it.Īnything greater than two years seems like a long time to wait for a band to release a new record.
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