Still Life Decay is a band that I met at some dark NYC club gathering and after this encounter I could only say that they are as serious about their music as anyone could be. The scene of Industrial and Gothic music has a different audience than that of your standard Metal crowd yet as I listened to this album entitled Storm and Stress I felt it was safe to say that Metal fans would appreciate a lot of what is going on in the recording. Powerful riffs over throbbing drum patterns all laced with interesting samples and electronic themes make the feel very intense and above it all their singer Fade screams, growls and whispers to whatever degree the track merits. His delivery is solid and surely sets up a lot of the mood in this very deep recording. Fade not only handles the duties on the microphone but also makes sure that all of the necessary programming involved is just right for the music. This allows the band to bring you deeper into their world and make it an experience you will not soon forget. They also must know the right people as they are joined by Fear Factory's Burton C. Bell on the track "Detach" which is among my favorites. "Align" was also a repeat listen for me as it brought a little bit of a Nine Inch Nails feel to the piece and I based it more for the creative samplings and steady electronics than a direct copy of NIN. I had felt that "Resuscitate" was a number that appealed to me most as a Metal listener and with that decided that there was a little bit of everything in this band that makes investigation into them a good thing to do. It's a journey into despair and agony that you will most likely not recover from very easily.
Of the twelve tracks on the CD the band includes 2 remixes of their song "Consumed" each one offering a different take on the track. The lineup is of course Fade (vocals/programming) who with his writing partner Edu Mussi are joined by Alex Terhune (bass) and Bones Padilla (drums). They have a unique look and style which must come off very good in the live sense. Given my references to Fear Factory and NIN I have to stress that if you are a fan of the Industrial or Gothic end why not take a chance on a band that mixes the two genres together with a style that will captivate you. Go on, you know you are curious.
Publishers Note: In 2007 the band changed their name to Inswarm.
Track Listing
1. Rapeleach
2. Realign
3. Resuscitate
4. Detach
5. Lash
6. Signal
7. Tentacal
8. Passage
9. Infest
10. Empty
11. Consumed (remix1)
12. Consumed (remix2)
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