{"id":22985,"date":"2014-11-21T00:00:15","date_gmt":"2014-11-21T00:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=22985"},"modified":"2015-01-08T01:37:49","modified_gmt":"2015-01-08T01:37:49","slug":"album-review-raunchy-vices-virtues-visions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-raunchy-vices-virtues-visions\/","title":{"rendered":"RAUNCHY – Vices.Virtues.Visions. (2014) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

RAUNCHY
Vices.Virtues.Visions.<\/strong><\/span>
\n\"\"
\nMassacre (2014)<\/span>
Rating: 7\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Raunchy is a veteran Danish band that formed back in 1992 and is now on its sixth record, namely the 11-track Vices.Virtues.Visions<\/em>. It\u2019s been four years since the sextet\u2019s last opus \u2013 2010\u2019s A Discord Electric<\/em> \u2013 and this new offering is the first to feature new vocalist Mike Semesky, who replaces Kasper Thomsen. After a handful of listens, I have mixed feelings.<\/p>\n

Raunchy most certainly deals with big melodies which weave their way through enormous anthems of power rock and progressive metal; at times the band explores some truly epic soundscapes, and so there is always an air of unpredictability throughout \u2013 which is no bad thing. <\/p>\n

For instance, a track such as \u2018Truth Taker\u2019 is a full on thrash experience boasting slamming percussion from Morten Toft Hansen, and the guitar sound of Lars Christensen and Jesper Andreas Tilsted is remarkably heavy. For the most part though, Raunchy is ever so keen to dabble in such contemporary design that I\u2019m left frozen by the tinkering. For a start, while say \u2018Truth Taker\u2019 is a bludgeoning, cranked up molten metal pounding, it just can\u2019t help but throw in that curve-ball of clear vocal whispers which in turn brings with it an almost pop-edged sensibility \u2013 I just can\u2019t stand that sort of meddling. <\/p>\n

Thankfully \u2018Truth Taker\u2019 isn\u2019t hindered all that much by the experimentation, but if we rewind to opener \u2018Eyes Of A Storm\u2019 then we reach the other end of the spectrum. The track opens with an array of effects and synth dabbling, and then come the Goth-tinged waves of guitar and drums. Yep, it\u2019s not bad for starters, and when the pace picks up we\u2019re treated to what can best be described as a punchy brand of groove metal. However, the band rarely keeps to its extreme path. While the vocals are very much frothing rasps of extremity, it\u2019s all dampened by that shift into Euro-pop delicacy where suddenly we have that sprightly bop of music married with crystal vocal sighs. <\/p>\n

I just find it so irritating, but Raunchy has that weird, fleetingly clever yet often annoying blend of high-end metal that can infrequently hint at Faith No More\u2019s otherworldly fusing of aggression and soul. The next though, we\u2019re almost into a nu-metal coldness. For me \u2018Eyes Of A Storm\u2019 showcases Semesky\u2019s vocal talents, but forever he\u2019ll loiter in the shadows of Faith No More\u2019s Mike Patton because the sound around him is one that just continually parades a coldness rather than engaging warmth. Having said that, Raunchy should appeal to the masses because they rarely work to boundaries; it\u2019s certainly a metal that parades outside of the box.<\/p>\n

\u2018Digital Dreamer\u2019 comes crashing in with a juddering riff as the band showcases its thrashing quality, again bolstered by Morten Toft Hansen\u2019s relentless barrage. With the subtle injections of Jeppe Christensen, there\u2019s enough progressive doodling here to keep one interested. The combo also has an eye for the sprawling, gargantuan soundscapes which should grace every festival stage; one cannot argue with the glorious, Goth highs of \u2018Never Enough\u2019 or the subtle, dream-like qualities of \u2018Anasthesia Throne\u2019 featuring some truly sugary vocal sways until the track gallops like some fully-armoured horse. <\/p>\n

Yes, Raunchy successfully incorporates traditional metal aesthetics with modern dynamics, but for me it\u2019s an album of fits and starts and one which seems to irritate me in whatever experimentation it attempts. Although not overtly technical, the subtle injections of clearer vocals seem unpredictable after the barrages of lighter brutality. \u2018I, Avarice\u2019 is a prime example of this, because it\u2019s the sort of track which sounds far better as a slower, haunting piece rather than one which feels the need to experiment with faster, belligerence. <\/p>\n

I\u2019m unsure if the band would ever admit to being influenced by Faith No More \u2013 after all, the original alternative metal gods have always seemed without company \u2013 but Raunchy is very much a force of nature reliant on that ever-changing orchestration. Nevertheless, while they seem so desperate to sweep us away with another tide of slamming rhythms and then jolt us back with a dose of cosmic progression, I just can\u2019t seem to become absorbed by it. Eventually, the more aggressive vocal streaks become extremely dull and grating. <\/p>\n

If one wasn\u2019t to know of the band\u2019s past, I\u2019d soon be thinking that this was a very new band hinting at deathcore dynamics and yet trying to escape the grate by way of melodic juxtaposition, but with the likes of \u2018Clarity\u2019 and \u2018The Singularity Heart\u2019 I\u2019m left rather drained by the continual surges then stop-start motions of a band that is somehow progressive and yet at times repetitive.<\/p>\n

Neil Arnold<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

RAUNCHYVices.Virtues.Visions. Massacre (2014)Rating: 7\/10 Raunchy is a veteran Danish band that formed back in 1992 and is now on its sixth record, namely the 11-track Vices.Virtues.Visions. It\u2019s been four years since the sextet\u2019s last opus \u2013 2010\u2019s A Discord Electric \u2013 and this new offering is the first to feature new vocalist Mike Semesky, who […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,1573],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22985","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-album-ep-reviews","category-raunchy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22985","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22985"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22985\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22987,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22985\/revisions\/22987"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22985"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22985"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22985"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}