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Opthalidon - Zero review



Reviewer:
7.7

2 users:
6
Band: Opthalidon
Album: Zero
Release date: November 2012


01. Rotten River
02. Mr. Grady
03. Dead Meat
04. Flowing Time
05. Tetraktys Hermetica

So old school heavy metal is making a comeback, thrash has had a retro phase for nearly a decade now. Black metal has never really entirely left. So why not retro industrial metal?

Behold Opthalidon.

There are two things these Italians like.

Zeros. The album title is 0 (note - temporarily labelled 'Zero' due to software issues), and the members, after each adopting the stage name Opthalidon differentiate themselves from one another by tacking, you guessed it, zeros on. Opthalidon 0, Opthalidon 00, etc.

Early industrial metal. The various 0's showcase a lot of influences in 0. In their words, they wanted to use the album to illustrate and build upon the genre's evolutionary stages. Godflesh, Pitchshifter, Fear Factory, and Red Harvest are represented as the foundations of the songs. Oh, and yes, they toss in a few samples as well to add a cool, mysterious vibe.

"Rotten River", for example, has the rumbling bass, waves of distortion building to crushing, hammered riffs. "Mr. Grady" slow builds with before twisting back and forth between dance break beats and rapid fire tremolo riffing. Other moments had me recalling that Fear Factory scored battle in the Mortal Kombat movie - unfortunately some of my furniture isn't good at taking a beating as the set of the movie.

Industrial metal, by synthesizing metal aggression with the myriad of electronic/cyber/industrial approaches, can cover a lot of ground. From the mechanized metal assault of Fear Factory to the smothering, cold, anxiety attack of Godflesh and Red Harvest to just really aggressive dance music for those not so much into the Tiesto.

Opthalidon do a fantastic job of creating songs that incorporate all these various elements. They pay heed to the past while pivoting and moving forward.


Rating breakdown
Performance: 8
Songwriting: 7
Originality: 6
Production: 8





Written on 06.10.2013 by BitterCOld has been officially reviewing albums for MetalStorm since 2009.


Comments

Comments: 8   Visited by: 143 users
06.10.2013 - 23:24
X-Ray Rod
Skandino
Definitely something for me to check out. Thanks for the heads up!
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Written by BloodTears on 19.08.2011 at 18:29
Like you could kiss my ass
Written by Milena on 20.06.2012 at 10:49
Rod, let me love you.
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07.10.2013 - 05:25
3rdWorld
China was a neat
"Old School Industrial metal" ? Intriguing, will definitely check this one.
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07.10.2013 - 09:36
mz

Consider me interested. thanks man
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Giving my ears a rest from music.
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07.10.2013 - 09:37
mz

Also, what a brilliant album cover
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Giving my ears a rest from music.
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07.10.2013 - 14:21
Auntie Sahar
Drone Empress
Hmmm.... that cover looks more like something for a black or doom release than industrial to me. Also, does this album have a bunch of weird audio samples in it? That's always been one of the big selling points for me as far as industrial bands go, like with Ministry and White Zombie.
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I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. “Come unto me” is a foolish word: for it is I that go.

~ II. VII
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07.10.2013 - 18:22
Rating: 8
BitterCOld
The Ancient One
Written by Auntie Sahar on 07.10.2013 at 14:21

Hmmm.... that cover looks more like something for a black or doom release than industrial to me. Also, does this album have a bunch of weird audio samples in it? That's always been one of the big selling points for me as far as industrial bands go, like with Ministry and White Zombie.


Yeah, there are a few samples as well. Probably should have mentioned as much.
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get the fuck off my lawn.

Beer Bug Virus Spotify Playlist crafted by Nikarg and I. Feel free to tune in and add some pertinent metal tunes!
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08.10.2013 - 13:20
angel.
Evil Butterfly
I'm gonna dig this for sure, first for the sake of that terrific artwork( in fact for the love of ouroboros) and then the retro industrial you mentioned on the review.
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The Fangirl.
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09.10.2013 - 08:33
trollmyst

Hi, I'm a member of Opthalidon, I have a few copies of our limited cd, if you want to receive a free copy of our cd please write to: opthalidon@yahoo.it
Thanks for your support and interest!
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