Genre : Instrumental Djent with Electronic/Dubstep leanings
Label : Independent
Origin : France
Rating : 8.5 / 10
Check out the project at the :
Official Bandcamp site
Official Facebook site
A.I.(d) - Disorder is an instrumental djent project by one man band Lou Gregoire, colored and spiced up nicely by tints and shades of playful electronica and minimalistic dubstep elements. Do not commit the mistake of prejudice and dismiss the contribution as a probable hybrid of bloated-, yet coarsely realized aspirations, as the Disorder LP is uncompromising-, aggressive mid-tempo djenting first and foremost, and remains as such even on the second intense scrutiny session. The elements of electronica are more of a cleverly used ornamentic character, coming to you through elements that you are not likely to pick up on at the first go. Example : Lou Gregoire likes to employ extremely fragile but persistent high frequency details here and there, and I'm not talking about the evident high frequency liquid synths, - which similarly kick toxic sci-fi toad butt - but about the strange and efficient "8-bit gargles/beeps/squeels/parrot noises" he offers buried deep within the sonic mass. Like on track number 2, "Skyrush" : listen between 3:40 to 3:47, left channel to right channel : WTF!!? this is a parrot!
The disc, as noted, is delightfully yet soberly aggressive in temper, and consorts nicely at heart to traditional djent - sooner or later someone had to write such a term - warfare : the basic character of the music seeks to mime Meshuggah metal, yet the actual fabric is funnily/inventively schizophrenic in its anatomy, refraining from-, remaining incapacitated to deliver along an actual-, mathematical formula that Meshuggah is the premiere employer of. Your current host, Lou Gregoire, as other artists are, is similarly content with the trademark Meshuggah 4/4 cymbal, and, from then one, deviation from that 4/4 core is necessarily great fun, no matter how you arrange the djenting in the sequencer - and that is the story of this release, as well. Read on to find out more about this.
With its first track "ID1172924647", the disc starts out with an honest and super-efficient declaration of the shape of things to come : valiant, brief, smartly varied cybernetic djenting, interrupted for a moment and two by liquefied synthesizers that openly seek to assuage as opposed to intimidate.
Following this fine 1:45 introduction, second track "Skyrush" is hasty enough to make you endure the most forgettable 5 minutes of the full length, - think of some tepid slow tempo djenting with alternative metal affectations - so fortunately those are out of your way already.
What I especially like about this contribution is its segments of over-the-top sonic aggression, when Lou Gregoire does not even care to simulate music that could be revealed by any other means than rabid computerization : the fray sometimes goes hilariously monstrous, deliberately atonal and schizophrenic, - the beginning section of the very next track, called "Life is an anagram for file" is an example - only to be interrupted for a brief minute by a gentle interlude of warm, spaced-out electronica that borders on ambient. Nothing too serious, but an efficient method to prepare the sonic space for the return of the deranged gargantuan djent guitars. In this next djent session, said instruments reveal more rigor than previously, even finding a groove that catches the Meshuggah magic by its mere interest. Not an easy thing to do, and most records never succeed at that. This record succeeds once, and that is more than the recent majority can accomplish. The very next riff, unfortunately, offers its butt voluptuously to traditional nervous breakdown breakup-metalcore warfare, and gets ravaged by the pathetic genre, too. You know the deal : band your open strings and touch the fretboard randomly on the corresponding string on every 2nd and 6th beat. Wear latex gimp outfit all the while. You are amazing!!!!!1 Luckily, the ending riff of the track exhibits more of a groove metal character.
Next track, "[Choices]", finds pleasure nodding elegantly to the gentler aspect of the technical death metal of Obscura with a melodic arch that is super-similar to the organic/toxic sci-fi horror revealed by said German band's music from time to time. From 2:22, the aforementioned-, similar vibe comes to you in the much more family friendly guitar rhetorics of your favorite pink ball bubblegum guitarist Soe Jatriani, but, thank God & Co., it is just a parody, as Lou Gregoire does not spend more time than 13 seconds worshiping Mr. Satriani, and even that interval is an embarrassment to witness, let alone commit. Luckily, the pattern-interruption - as in hypnotism - is a brilliant "outleash", and a premiere example of how your French gentleman utilizes the virtually limitless capabilities of the digital sequencer : the djenting is so densely populated between interruptions that it becomes a black hole seeking to melt your face off, and, if it does not sound like fun to you, then I don't know what to tell you.
"Something Terrible" is really not something terrible, "but" a funny and pleasant song with a Faith No More synthpop vibe, - yes, Faith No More is synthpop with distorted guitars - and it introduces a nice background melody on the synths. Something tells me it could have been a superb slow tempo djent epic.
"A time machine called hope" once again utilizes the safe and SOUND - ha., ha. - formula of interchanging rabid djenting for tamer segments in a still-acceptable attempt to reveal and offer flamboyancy, and the second segment of the minigun-guitars offers a nice collision between the frontal melody and the harmonic backdrop.
"Mothership Breakdown" starts out with a frontal lobotomy, then a series of three legitimate rhythmic patterns arise to entertain the ears, conveying a similar feel, but addressing it with different temper. I like all three of them, especially the unforgiving second one, that which I think is pretty short-lived. The climax of this song is a gentle ambient segment that sounds as almost acceptable background music for an online Tetris variant. Almost.
Via its intro section, "Virgin Chill Hustler" takes you to the Planet of the Apes by some smarmy-mootsy tribal music. "Look, Anakin! Say "Hello!" to the Ewoks! They are friendly! BZZZZZZZZZZZT!" The song then turns into a much more likable space-opera djent piece, varying the fabric with no remorse between intense uptempo and deliberately - and skillfully - scattered mid-tempo. Though the bloated catharsis-riffage tends to overstay its welcome Periphery - !PLOUCH! - style in my opinion, a closure with an experimental tint steadily saves 20 hours of the day.
There is one more song on the disc that I did not yet talk to you about, and the reason for this is that said song is an 11 minute Epic which you should check out for yourself at the Official site.
Check out the track called "Legendary" - and the others, too - at :
the Official Bandcamp site of the A.I.(d) - Disorder project.
Rating : 8.5 / 10
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