REVIEWS - "The Conjoined" CD (page 6)

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Metal Mongrel - (8 out of 10) by Old Speckled Mike. January 2008

Speaking for myself, I'm the kind of guy who knows what he wants from music and try my best to get exactly that. Straightforward and energetic will usually keep me happy. I've tended to be a bit wary of experimental/avant-garde music, especially within Metal, as it's something I've always associated with the stop/start, quiet/loud cliches I detest - when a band decides they want to say they don't care about labels etc etc but are quite delusional about how 'out there' they actually are. But it's somewhat reassuring to have your stubbornly held views challenged every once in a while - so long as the challenge is worth it. The Conjoined has certainly been worth it.

Possibly the best thing about this album is how it seamlessly fuses familiar modern Metal with elements that shouldn't fit, but do. The familiar aspect is the modern Thrash/metalcore style throughout the album, which the experimental elements accompany both within and without - they can either be totally separate from these parts, or play alongside them with all the grace that a swan with bricks tied it's feet shouldn't have...but strangely it still stays afloat! The gist of the album can be gathered from the first two songs. Final Act Of Treachery blisters away in a Thrash-style - fast, but not in the open string strumming/constant double bass way; with slightly unusual synth/keyboard parts being added from the second half as the pace changes. Through The Broken Lens shows the more 'core-ish influences with it's stop/start, quiet/loud...the kind that I hate, aye. But these guys manage to make my pet hate quite tolerable by using these quiet parts to show off some good bass playing, amongst other things.

The musicianship here does reflect well on a band comprised of experienced musicians - what I imagine you should expect from a lineup that includes an ex-Voivod member, and a guy who's worked behind the production desk with Raven, Deceased and others. Everything here is played well and tastefully, the focus being on the songs rather than individual displays of talent/ego (delete as you deem appropriate). I particularly picked up on the drumming, which consistently manages to drive the music forward at a rapid fire pace without once becoming monotonous or predictable. The heavy vocals are generally shouted and mid-range but suit the music perfectly; and thankfully the quieter, cleaner vocals that are also used do not detract from this.

Since I've digressed...though you can get a good idea of the overall feel of the album from the first two songs, this in no way means the rest of the album will be predictable. These songs would probably still work with a traditional drum+bass+guitar+vocal arrangement, and the variance in songwriting means this would still be a very good album, albeit one that wouldn't be my first choice to listen to. However, the experimental parts make this genuinely interesting to listen to, even more so for a listener who enjoys this modern style more than I do. They occur regularly throughout the album in a myriad of forms; the most noticeable probably being small orchestral parts in Regenerate and the spoken word Unsight Unseen, and jazz-style trumpets in the title track and Synesthesia. The latter track contains more stop/starting, and those trumpets fit in nicely. Ironically, my favourite example overall is probably the least noticeable! I love the keyboards in the last song, hidden away subtlety in the body of the song and finally coming to the fore as the album fades out...drat! Old-school sounding keyboards like that (admittedly it's not the huge Hammond organ/Leslie speaker sound that I love more than my own mother, but still pleasing) are brilliant, and while Project: Failing Flesh are under no obligation to cater to my every whim, I'd love to hear more of these in the future. Thrash organs, hell yeah!

If it seems like I've reviewed this album through gritted teeth, you're wrong. On reflection, as well as being a Generally Good Album, The Conjoined has pleased me on two other levels. It's great to hear some modern, experimental Metal outside of the psychedelic areas I'm more inclined to choose myself. It's also great to hear a style of Metal I usually wouldn't be too keen on done up in a way that makes even this stubborn old mule smile. Well done chaps!

Powerline A.D. - by swayingball aka Phil Swanson. January 2008

Got this from a friend who is close to the band for review. Most notable is the fact Eric Forrest (ex-Voivod) provides vocals here and while I wasn't a big fan of Voivod during his tenure I can't fault him at all as no one was ever gonna replace Snake in my eyes and ears. Add in the challenge of doing double duty as Blacky's replacement on bass and this was a no win situation for anyone one daring to take on the task, so I will give at least credit where credit is due.

I was way into the industrial thrash genre at the time and looking high and low for bands to take on the cyber thrash style and was quite satisfied by bands such as Supuration and Tenebrae doing so, I just wasn't willing to give up my beloved Voivod to it. This style was short lived in the 90s as Godflesh clone never being giving its fair shake as the modern progressive rock it really stands to be and you wouldn't think this style would be in the revival stages as it was always so far ahead of its time, I was hoping for it to progress rather than die out as it did and glad to see attempts at moving it forward once again.

Project: Failing Flesh nods a bit to Voivod's then industrial aggro cyber/thrash leanings but also takes on the task of progressing on the already progressive. I here some influence of post-avant garde / black metal ala current Ulver, Fleurety, Solefald at certain moments as well as mid period Neurosis, Thorn, Soulstorm and Release. Very classy and overwhelmingly huge in its boldness, Project: Failing Flesh stand head and shoulders above most bands in the modern metal scene. These guys would crush under foot anything current on Century Media or Relapse and I really wouldn't expect to see a release of this caliber on anything less than say Universal alongside Satyricon and yet here they are on the small indie Greek label Burning Star. If you are progressive minded and embrace the technical and challenging then I highly recommend Project: Failing Flesh to you, so a call to all fans of Meshuggah and Gojira to take note of Project: Failing Flesh for that and then some!

Metal Centre - (8.5 out of 10) by Gnom. January 2008

„The Conjoined” jest kolejnym albumem amerykańskiego bandu o dość dziwnej nazwie - Project: Failing Flesh, którego wokalistą jest Eric Forrest - były wokalista i basista Voivod. I być może to spowodowało, iż Project: Failing Flesh reprezentuje podobny klimat do Voivod, aczkolwiek nieco cięższy i ostrzejszy. Ale oczywiście są to moje subiektywne odczucia…

Jedenaście utworów znajdujących się na krążku oscyluje wokół Industrialno Progresywnych Death Metalowych klimatów. Kawałki są bardzo dynamiczne i ciężkie co podkreślane jest przez specyficzne gitarowe riffy, których rytmika jest miejscami dość skomplikowana i zróżnicowana, podobnie jak solidne perkusyjne partie bogate w częste zmiany tempa, przejścia i akcenty. Te dość skomplikowane aranżacje mają znamiona technicznego i progresywnego Death Metalu z elementami Industrialu. Pojedynczo pojawiają się sekwencje Black Metalu czy Stoner Metalu oraz Ambientu i muzyki alternatywnej. Dodatkowo rzadziej dochodzą do głosu różnego rodzaju partie klawiszy i sample, ale za to w odpowiednich momentach, idealnie wzmacniając nastrój utworów. A całość prowadzi ostry agresywny growlingowy wrzask, który miejscami zmienia się w spokojniejszy ton czy melodeklamacje.

Muzyka rozpościera ciężki i szalony nastrój, w którym panuje zimny mrok z pierwiastkiem melancholii. Materiał jest naprawdę solidny i godny polecenia!

Hexoruss.org - (#3 ranked album for year ending 2007) by hexonut. January 2008

Больше никто не может делать прог-металл настолько экстремально тяжелым, не впадая при этом в мертвячьи дебри прог-дэта или прог-блэка. Но несмотря на всю тяжесть они на протяжении всего альбома сохраняют невероятную плотность звука - какие-то странные звуки то струнных, то клавишных, то духовых, то детской игрушечной пианинки; то вдруг элементы индастриала, техно, латины, то вообще непойми-чего. Тим как-то сокрушался - и зачем я записал 25 слоев? Ну кто за пальцы тянул? И при всем при этом нет никакого хаоса - альбом очень слитный и мощный. Особо выделяется Эрик Форрест - более разнообразного вокалиста просто трудно себе представить, на этой пластинке он показал себя лучше, чем когда-либо: представлена масса вокальных стилей от красивого чистого пения до зловещего индустриального шепота, до дэтового рыка, до... ну, не буду перечислять, слушайте. С нетерпением жду нового Е-Форса - обещал в сентябре, да все никак, вроде теперь в марте должен выйти.

Amazon.com - by George Hale. September 2007

If you wanna hear something original, twisted, progressive, and thrashy then check out the second album from this futuristic extreme metal trio. Don't miss out if you're a fan of Voivod, Believer, Coroner, or similar great bands ahead of their time. Featuring ex-Voivod vocalist Eric Forrest.

Dark Harvest - by Elizabeth. February 2008

Virginia and France have started 'le revolution of metal' with Project: Failing Flesh. Virginia is known for giving birth to some of the greatest metal bands in the world- Lamb of God, Pig Destroyer, and Deceased to name a few. Now comes Project: Failing Flesh! While not as fast, and in your face, as the previous bands I mentioned, they are just as hard hitting with the heavy riffs you want and the vocals you deserve. Uncharacterized and unique is the sound you will hear. Don't let the violin scare you. They will have no sympathy on you, as they creep in and take you where they want you to be.

Mario's Metal Mania - by Kees Schijven. February 2008

This second release, "The Conjoined" is what we're talking about here. The album is a bit of a mix of everything, strange (to metal) instruments like a trumpet or something like that on 'The Conjoined', while they also got some Fear Factory and Voivod influences in there, but just a little and not too much. They really have an original sound, but very experimental, with weird breaks and stuff. If you're into experimental, you can't go wrong with this one, there isn't more experimental than this, as far as I've heard. Lots of new and strange sounds to discover here, although one of my fave tracks 'Eve Of Demise', is actually real heavy, and less experimental than the rest of the tracks on the album. It definitely is something you have to get used to, and play several times to catch it all, every time you play this, you hear new things. Too much going on to get it in one time, don't even think they are gonna do this live, cause it seems almost impossible. Only for real experimental freaks…

Transcending the Mundane - (9 out of 10) by Brett VanPut. February 2008

Virginia's cyber metallers Project: Failing Flesh are one of my favorite bands. I first heard about the band when the duo of Tim Gutierrez and Kevin 131 put the band together in 2001 and then proceeded to enlist the services of vocalist Eric Forrest (E-Force, ex-Voivod). They recorded and released a stunning debut in 2003 called A Beautiful Sickness. It was independently released but the now defunct Karmageddon Media released it worldwide. The trio went back into the studio for this sophomore album, The Conjoined.

Project: Failing Flesh is a band that will definitely appeal to fans of the two Eric Forrest fronted Voivod albums; 1995's Negatron and 1997's Phobos. The style of Project: Failing Flesh combines thrash and industrial metal for a distinct sound. Things get great early on as "Through the Broken Lens" is highlighted by a simple but infectious riff; it also has a great contrast between brutal riffing and melodic riffing. If you want some Pantera like heaviness you can have "Motionless" and the sax and heavy bass on the title track give it an exotic flair. For the industrial side of Project: Failing Flesh's sound check out "Regenerate" or "Synesthesia;" the latter sounds like a Bile song.

At a time when industrial metal bands are few and far between (when will Bile record again?); Project: Failing Flesh is taking the genre to new places but not forgetting about the metal guitars. If you liked A Beautiful Sickness, The Conjoined picks up right where it left off.

Maelstrom - (8.5 out of 10) by Mladen Skot. Issue 60, February / March 2008

As opposed to the another "Project" band reviewed in this issue, there's nothing lame about Project: Failing Flesh. This one consists of only three members, but each and every one of them, on each and every song, crushes.

Given the nature of the recording process, apart from the two brothers Gutierrez, and the former Voivod vocalist, Eric Forrest, there might have been some other session members involved, because The Conjoined is a product of months of work in the studio owned by Kevin Gutierrez. In the breaks between working with bands such as Raven or Dysrhythmia, the brothers have been, for the second time now, recording their own ideas. Starting with the basic instruments, which, frankly, would have been enough to turn a few heads, they have also added some layers to twist the picture a bit.

In a nutshell, the result would be this: industrialized rhythmical progressive metal with almost absent — but subliminally disturbing — machinery. Read this word again: crushing. That's the guitar sound, if there ever was one to suit the description. Be it twisted thrash, Fear Factory on speed, Voivod progression, disjointed puppet marches or blastbeats, Project: Failing Flesh never fail to come up with a new idea for every subsequent song, develop it, distort it and make The Conjoined feel much longer than the 40 indicated minutes. Some of the drums have been played, some programmed, but it's hard to tell what and where because they, everywhere, hit like a surgically precise, meticulously programmed sledgehammer. Forrest, to say the least, doesn't feel like he's out of place on The Conjoined. This might be the best way he has ever used those hollow shouts.

And then there are the layers. Don't pay attention (or listen to The Conjoined too loud) and you won't know they are there. But they are — either playing along the crunchy staccato riffs almost as if being an end-part of each note, or simply a sweeping keyboard harmony instantly boosting everything to another level of intensity — Project: Failing Flesh know their way with sounds. Nothing has been left to chance. Even the song composition — if it sounds out of place, it's here to surprise you, but not by accident. Listen to The Conjoined for a dozen times but still you're just scratching the surface. And yet, all the ideas seem so simple. As if they waited for someone to use them the right way.

The Devil is in details, they say. This time, the Devil is a cyborg.

Metal Invader - (4 out of 6) by Panagiotis Karagiannidis. March 2008

What a release! Project: Failing Flesh is a creation of ex- Voivod’s Eric Forrest who looks like he bets to burn our head. This album is called “The Conjoined” and it’s the second (first for the Greek Burning Star records) full length for Flesh’s trio that constitutes of Forrest and Tim Gutierrez with Kevin 131.

It’s clear that “The Conjoined” has only one aim. To create mosh pits and break your fucking neck. The musical style of the album is on Pantera’s paths with many Voivod elements in a very modern new wave sound. “The Conjoined” creates a “fuck off” and “I wanna kick your ass” feeling while it’s music is a parade of lethal riffs, blast beats and screaming vocals. All of the above are amply served to your plate by Failing Flesh via “The Conjoined”. On the other side of the coin, there are some kind of strange parts like some keyboards found on the outro song “The Hand That You’ve Been Dealt” and other slow riffs in some tracks that couldn’t fit a lot but this sure doesn’t influence the result. It’s definitely apparent that Forrest’s experience lends assurance to the band.

I have the impression that “The Conjoined” during a live performance would be the greatest present for moshers.

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