There is a lot about this album that one could guess correctly without ever listening to a single song. Look at the title, The Deus Ex-Machina as a Forgotten Genius (Andy Warhol Sucks). Look at the 71:49 second playing time over a mere seven tracks. Then look at the album art, very dark and eerie. Finally flip the album over and look at the track listing. The songs are "acts" with titles like "A Farewell to a Crimson King in a Crimson Way (Hats off Mister Salinger)" and are almost as absurd as the name of the album itself. It all adds up to one thing: pretentiousness. Don't get me wrong, I really do not mind pretentiousness if it is done well. I am a huge fan of bands like Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Sigur Ros, bands that certainly think their music is important and do the whole ridiculous song titles thing and chop their songs up into movements.
Well, I did listen to this album, and most of my assumptions about it were correct. Comity is certainly a band that does not hide its desire to create music that is art. One thing I was not really expecting, however, was just how devastatingly brutal this album sounds at times. Some parts of the album are Godspeed-esque instrumentals with meandering guitar lines, only to evolve into death metal parts complete with double-bass blastbeats, guttural screams and thrash metal riffs. This is certainly an album of contrasts sonically, although it at least maintains a dark vibe throughout.
I'll be the first to admit that thrash metal is not exactly my musical genre of choice. Thus, I enjoy the instrumental parts of this album more than the brutal parts. I just don't find the really low death metal scream that permeates this album to be enjoyable. Plus, the lyrics are incomprehensible. Seventy-one minutes of near-relentless heaviness can really start to grate.
I won't begrudge Comity for attempting an album on a grand scale here. Furthermore, I could see metal heads around the world loving this album. The press release says that the widely-respected hardcore webzine Lambgoat gave it 9/10. However, this is my review, and I just could not enjoy The Deus Ex-Machina As a Forgotten Genius (Andy Warhol Sucks). If you love metal and like your music epic in scope, this album will be your holy grail. Otherwise, avoid this album.
2/4
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