“Dethroned” is a Rock / Metal concept album. Dealing with concepts like strong artificial intelligence, exponential technological development and nanotechnology, it is all apparently based on a book called “The Singularity is Near” by Ray Kurzwell. The album is split into three parts, “Singularity in the Making”, “Endgame” and “The Machine Kind”, and then some bonus tracks. All this made me wonder if there was too much concept here and not enough of a coherent musical work.
Sure enough, this is what I found. I suppose there’s no law that says an album has to be pleasing but surely the listener should at some point be able to connect to it. I just couldn’t. The rhythms are inoffensive but I just never felt I was getting anywhere with this album. The title track “Dethroned” was typical. It’s kind of Arena Rock but not as good. It then descends into chaos. The uninspiring, rock-orientated version of the Eurythmics’s “Here Comes the Rain Again”, and “Unbelievable (The Mind Speaks)”, a piece of repetitive, Rock / Metal where the words and music add up to nothing special, are equally ordinary. Some were better. “Techcceleration (The Machine Speaks)” features some crunchy guitar and in its earthy and slightly offbeat approach, has the air of Atrox about it. Metal meets Rock although like the rest of the album as a whole, it’s hard to listen to. At least this one is interesting in patches, and I liked the manic laughter at the end. I also liked “How Were We Supposed to Know”, an emotive track, of which there is an acoustic version among the bonuses at the end. Basically, it’s a modern-day, male-fronted answer to Minnie Riperton’s “Loving You”. At least it’s got feeling and is sung well by the ex Hades man Alan Tecchio.
Undoubtedly there’s variety here but it seems to be at the expense of coherence and interest value. “Every Day (The Body Speaks”) is supposed to be machine-like, I think, but it’s just out of tune. It then goes dreamy and then heavy. It’s a strange kind of Prog without boundaries. In its ambiance and vocals, this track reminded me of the ambient parts of Green Carnation’s album “A Blessing in Disguise”. Then there’s the minimalist Post Doom of “Transcend”. Mystical chanting turns into the sound of Skid Row before going back to plodding acoustics. “The Past (The Heart Speaks)” is just dreary, and then we’re onto the bonus tracks. “Rebirth” is a funky but uninspiring piece of Hard Rock, preceding “Rafi”, an odd, acoustic track. “Odd” is a good word to describe this album.
For me, “Dethroned” just rambles on. I’m not sure if would help to read the book it’s based on. What I do know is that this is a difficult listen and I just didn’t get it.
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