Norway's progressive/power/thrash metal act Communic are back with their sixth release, Hiding From the World (AFM Records), which follows their excellent 2017 album Where Echoes Gather. The band have made a career out of creating moody, complex, and certainly heavy music, comparisons to Nevermore are hard to resist due to Oddleif Stensland's uncanny similarity to Warrel Dane's vocal style and the often times dark, menacing tone of Communic's music. Much of the new material here clocks in at the 7+ minute mark, which, is pretty indicative of most of their albums, the band often times taking a few minutes to build some atmosphere and them pummel the listener with crushing riffs, intricate solos, and plenty of vocal passages. "Plunder of Thoughts" kicks things off in fine fashion, a crunchy number with constant riffing and soaring vocals from Oddleif, which then gives way to the emotional title track, a melodic, slow builder of a song that has its moody moments as well as sections that you can headbang with. "My Temple of Pride" is another slice of melancholy progressive metal, as the band drops back and forth between crushing metal and more atmospheric passages. "Face in the Crowd" is a blistering, near thrash attack, the drums of Tor Atle Andersen blasting away underneath non-stop riffing from Stensland. Other highlights include the bone-crunching "Born Without a Heart" , the complex savagery of "Scavengers Await", and the dreamy, atmospheric finale "Forgotten", a real workout for Stendsland on vocals and lead guitar.
Ultimately, Hiding From the World is impressive as always from this great band, though I don't think it's as immediately satisfying as its two predecessors, but perhaps time will allow this one to climb up to those lofty levels of both Where Echoes Gather and The Bottom Deep. We shall see.
Track Listing
1. Plunder of Thoughts
2. Hiding from the World
3. My Temple of Pride
4. Face in the Crowd
5. Born Without a Heart
6. Scavengers Await
7. Soon to Be
8. Forgotten
Printer Friendly Page
Send to a Friend
