REVIEW: Lifeforms – Multidimensional [2013]
Artist: Lifeforms
Album: Multidimensional
Label: Lifeforce Records
Preview: String Theory
You feel the air getting thicker, you feel dizzy, your eyesight slowly dimishes; the heavy atmosphere seems to be crushing every ounce of your being and you appear to be having some form of an out of body experience. You wonder just what the fuck is going on, well either you are having some sort of mental psychosis or you have just begun to listen to the debut full-length release of Californian ”Djentcore” band Lifeforms. The appropriately titled album ”Multidimensional” is a well crafted combination of various genres which can best be described as ”progressive crushing technicality”. However there is more to this album than just a fancy description and some djenty breakdowns, ”Multidimensional” is overflowing with experimental influences of all kinds and is a multi-headed hybrid beast that is hard to describe in text form. Atmospherical grooves, hard hitting bass drops, crushing beatdowns, guitar sweeps and both serene and eerie melodies are all present and accounted for.
From the moment that the intro track ”Descent Into Madness” starts blasting out of your speakers or headphones, ”Multidimensional” grabs you by the throat and takes possession of all your senses, while the following self titled track seems to be straight forward, the listener will soon be caught off guard and amazed by the constantly progressing and changing tracks that follow. Vocally ”Multidimensional” is equally as crushing and diverse than the instrumentals, be it the mid range growls, volatile gutteral hardcore screams or the very loveable signature deathcore high range screeches I like so much. There is even some clean singing here and there, but its not overused and feels as natural as everything else.
Combining this much different style and variation in a single album is always risky because there is a high probability that some elements dont come out as good as you might had hoped, resulting in a cataclysmic chain reaction that affects the overall quality of the whole album, working against itself so to speak. Lifeforms took this risk but managed to perfect and tune every element of ”Multidimensional” to the point that everything seems as natural as having mayonaise with your french fries. Of course all these layers make it hard to fully enjoy the album in just one single listen, unless you have a multiple set of ears and a multicore processor wired in your brain, you will need to replay ”multidimensional” in order to fully experience and appreciate every seperate dimension.
I have to admit im not really a fan of most ”Djentcore” bands mainly because they all sound the same and fail to spark my interest, Lifeforms however has proven to me that you can make a solid multilayered masterpiece if you put some actual effort in your work (other djent bands should take note here). ”Multidimensional” is a much needed breeze of fresh air in a genre plagued by monotony and repetitiousness and will take the listener on a 30 minute journey of variety which feels like a complete and immersive experience when the album hits ”Home”.
Rating: 9.4/10
For fans of: Born of Osiris, Aristeia, Volumes, After the Burial
