My association with band Crossfaith is EP Zion (2012). All the rest of their work I don't like. Yes, I can mention several songs from album Xeno, for example, Raise Your Voice, Devil's Party and Paint it Black - I listened to them with pleasure. But you understood my main point.
My Rating: 75/100 Best song: Truth Of Insanity
Earlier, I wrote my opinion about album “Ex_Machina”: I noted too much emphasis on emotions, which had a bad effect on the methods of solving artistic tasks. And now I am ready to express my opinion on EP “Species”. While listening, it seemed that they heard this criticism. This is a pleasant fact. However, not all so simple.
In the new album you can hear technical riffs, a wide variety of synthesizers, extreme vocal techniques (some segments with recitative). At first glance, it looks simple, but when you hear it - emotions begin to pour over the edge. However, for some reason it seemed to me that all five songs grew out of one idea. That is, there was one idea that was implemented in five different ways. I don’t know if this is true or not, but such a feeling is present. However, this time there were no trash and it’s nice to know.
Now about the vocalist - he is good. Here you can hear both pure and extreme vocal techniques. Such a variety is a pleasant fact. However, something here can also be noticed. For example, clean vocals in the refrain of the 3rd track - I think that such a sound is not suitable for such a song (although, for example, in the 5th track it sounds cool). But overall, the vocalist is very cool.
Instrumental parts are impressive. I don’t think that I will be able to write a lot, as there is a big bet on the general idea. But something is possible to highlight. For example, guitars sound interesting. This album has very technical riffs in a very low tuning (if I'm not mistaken, Drop B). More precisely, the guitarist is trying to portray technicality: I immediately realized how this is played. However, there are also slam (4 track) riffs. The rhythm section is very powerful. Here you can hear very intense drum loops. Even at an middle tempo, you can hear the drummer holding a hurricane rhythm. But one cannot say that the rhythm section is overloaded - it's noticeable that the drummer knows his job. And I would like to say that the drummer is the best band member. But no: in my opinion, this title belongs to the keyboard player. Here again, a big bet on synthesizers is noticeable - their number exceeds all conceivable limits. But there is also no overloading feeling - this is exactly what you need.
Will I listen to this album in the future? Perhaps yes - in general, the album is cool. This is a worthy work of professionals. Yeah, I can say that hiding flaws with help of emotions is a bad idea. And usually after such words I list a few bands that made such a bet and whose results were dubious. However, the level of training is felt even through similar methods. However, it's still noticeable that some of their methods have already been established and are not subject to revision. “Special, unique style” - a similar characteristic, although it's respected, but most often it's doubtful. Does this inspire respect in this case - everyone will decide for himself. In the meantime, I can say that the guys did a good job.
