PlanetMosh Keeping it Metal
Symbiosis is generally described in the dictionary as “the living together of two dissimilar organisms in more or less intimate association” – which, one has to assume is the effect this Portuguese five piece were trying to achieve when they merged crust, punk and metal nigh on two decades ago.
Now, with this, their fifth album, you would expect them to have the relationship between these different ‘organisms’ down to one of ‘intimate association’ – and they pretty much do, particularly in the crust punk categories if not the metal department. Opener ‘Payback Time’, for example, is a pretty ferocious piece of punkish anarchy, while follow up ‘Buried Alive’ introduces a very grindcore edge.
The problem, however, is that it all staid and relatively tame: actually, ‘samey’ would be an extremely effective adjective to use at this point. The musical performances are competent enough, as are the individual songs, but there is just not enough to maintain interest all the way through this 14-song, 33-minute offering. By the time the halfway point is passed, the title ‘Drowning In Shit’ seems somewhat appropriate.
With a bit more variety, this could have been so much better. As it is, it’s a fairly brutal and mostly painful listen, which unfortunately merits only 5/10.
Track list:
1. Payback Time
2. Buried Alive
3. Reage À Tue Frustaçäo
4. Rise Again
5. Massacre Em Utoya
6. Parados Humilhados Calados
7. Total Descontrolo
8. Drowning In Shit
9. Control My Life
10. Sociedade Perdida
11. Believe
12. Information Overload
13. Push It
14. Economical Terrorism
‘Economical Terrorism’ is out now on Rastilho Records.
Watch the video to ‘Reage À Tue Frustaçäo’ at http://vimeo.com/43781198
http://www.facebook.com/JONHIESIMBIOSE/
