Murder Construct: Results

Take a careful look at the album cover for this one, especially if you are interested in American art or American political imagery. Most viewers will likely notice the use of the pyramid with the eye in the middle, a very familiar symbol found on the back of the American dollar bill. Some people have vast and complex conspiracy theories about what these symbols might mean; if you are one of those individuals, you may as well stop reading this now, because I'm not going to discuss them. This is nothing more than a short album review. In any case, the pyramid, and the structure right below it, is in horrible disarray. At the base of the structure, there's a dead man lying down, his clothes like those of a solider back from the Civil War. In fact, I'm pretty sure he is taken directly from a Civil War photograph I've seen recently. The rest of the cover image is a mix of broken bodies, skulls, useless dollar bills, and a tattered American flag. With the band name and album title taking up only a small space, I can assume that we are meant to take in this image carefully, to ponder over its possible meanings. With a name like Results, I think the image must point to something to do with American greed, the subsequent collapse of the economy, and the inevitable wars that could follow from social and cultural collapse. To my eyes, the image also brings to mind a painting like Philip Evergood's Renunciation, a work that deeply criticizes America's use of the atomic bomb. From the cover image alone, it's safe to assume that this album is steeped in political commentary and that it may even cast a critical light on our current American condition.

With such a strong and compelling cover, I expected the album to be just as powerful or striking. It was, but only to a small degree. I don't think that the intention here was to create a concept album. The titles don't have any thematic unity that I can make out; moreover, the songs are all so short (most of them are under 3 minutes) that they don't have time to develop any particular lyrical themes. I was initially impressed with the high quality performances found on this record--indeed, the members of this band come from several other extreme metal bands, including Exhumed and Cattle Decapitation--but my overall sense was that the music was too repetitive and the songs far too similar. At times, I even had difficulty keeping track of where I was in the playlist. Fans of relentless heavy metal will really like this release, I think. For me, however, I wanted to hear music that illuminated much more the powerful symbols gracing the album cover. The music should complement, or even complicate, the striking symbolism of the cover art. I do recommend the closing track, "Resultados," though. This song takes listeners on a journey far away from the sound developed on the album and closes with a vaguely middle-eastern sound. I was impressed with the variety but disappointed that it only came at the end.

Track Listing:
1. Red all Over
2. Under the Weight of the Wood
3. No Question, No Comment
4. Gold Digger
5. Compelled by Mediocrity
6. The Next Life
7. Dead Hope
8. Feign Ignorance
9. Mercy, Mercy
10. Malicious Guilt
11. Resultados

Added: August 20th 2012
Reviewer: Carl Sederholm
Score:
Related Link: Band Website
Hits: 1869
Language: english

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