'Erase, Evolve And
Rebuild'
Fredrik Croona, the man
behind harsh ebm outfit Cynical Existence, is on a rampage. In less
than a year he has given us an exciting début album, plus an EP, and
is already following it up with album number two. The first
full-length Cynical Existence outing on 'Come Out And Play' showed
off a well rounded approach to creating hard dance tracks that
channelled the previous experiences of its creator with his other
bands Project Rotten and Menschdefekt and infusing an almost metal
edge to them. Fast forward several months and another EP and the
second album continues the path set out on 'Come And Play' and
refined further on the 'A Familiar Kind Of Pain' EP.
There is no genuine aim
at creating anything other than a varied approach to harsh ebm that
is both dance orientated – in the vein of acts such as Suicide
Commando, Grendel and SITD – but also carries some emotional
resonance. It's a simple and honest ambition, and one that continues
to bear fruit.
The snarled metal
vocals, industrial guitar, hard beats and scathing synth melodies
give the album it's backbone. But the clever use of clean vocals, as
well as sparring use of glitch and even dubstep elements give the
album a fresh and experimental edge. The likes of 'Something
Strange', 'Falling', 'Our Bright Future', 'No Compromise' and
'Transformation (Search For A Change)' provide the strongest cuts
from the track listing. Each one incorporating and refining new and
interesting elements into the Cynical Existence palette.
They don’t' always get it quite right, though. Too often Steve Alton's excellent guitar work gets lost in the mix, and sometimes there is just too much vying for the listener's attention, such as with 'Erase Me'.
They don’t' always get it quite right, though. Too often Steve Alton's excellent guitar work gets lost in the mix, and sometimes there is just too much vying for the listener's attention, such as with 'Erase Me'.
'Erase, Evolve And
Rebuild' is a mantra for Croona and his collaborators. Cynical
Existence is a band that grows for the better with every release. The
band don't descend into the cliché of genre conventions. Instead
they take that early diversity of the harsh ebm sound and continue to
tinker with it to suit themselves
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