I knew before I started to listen to this album that it was going to be a bout of Modern Metalcore, because the band’s name just gives it away. For me the name evokes something between Killswitch Engaged and the Scandinavian sound of Scar Symmetry. On the subject of nomenclature, I shall get a gripe out of the way now. Some of the track titles of this album have a mixture of upper and lower case (except in the inner sleeve, where this “rule” does not universally apply), so we have “queSTIOns UNAnswered”. What is the point? There’s no obvious reason for this random capitalisation, it’s not original and tends to go with this genre. Have I missed something? It’s as if the band is not trying to stand out. On the plus side, I did notice that the mixing and mastering were carried out at the Hansen studio in Denmark. This is normally a very good sign which tells me that if there’s quality there, then every ounce of it will be brought out in the sound production. But gripes and other observations apart, let’s not judge a book by its cover ...
I’m pleased to say that when it comes down to the business of playing, these lads from Latvia are onto a winner. Punch-packed from the off with “WE BoTH know”, the atmosphere is exciting and dangerous. The riff is colourful and the vocals are aggressive and harsh, matching the medium to fast speed. Without doubt, this track and all those which follow smell strongly of Soilwork, so it stands accused of not being hugely original. There are at the same time many good qualities, not least that it’s melodic and has impact. Pleasingly, the frenetic momentum is maintained on the second track “In moments of Sadness (Relax and Smile)”. It’s a sign of success when you start to share the anger of the music you’re listening to, and I did. Better still, it’s not achieved through lumphammer bludgeoning but rather by a constantly driving force, enhanced by hooky riff lines. The tracks “ConvecTION of Worlds” and “”Pleasure makes me Paranoid” are typical in this respect. Anger and rage simply pass through the veins of the former, while the excellent “Pleasure makes me Paranoid” is a chunky track with flamboyant guitar work. The sense of forward motion is supported by aggressively hard-hitting drums.
The themes are right too. “ReaSOn for HATing” fits well into the musical agenda. It takes no prisoners and it’s pulverising but made digestible thanks to the melody and clean vocals. It drifts into instrumental headbanging territory before blending into a short solo and a catchy chorus. War of the actual and mental kind is prominent as a theme, as are cynicism, despair and failure. “You left me dead … why the hell are you so selfish?” rages the singer on the fast and thrashy “StuNNed by tHe GUN”. “queSTIOns UNAnswered” is surprisingly epic, given the downbeat subject of feeling trapped in a godawful mess with no sense of escape. Trendkill Method don’t stick rigidly to a theme and prove themselves to be adaptable, thus widening the range further. There’s even pathos on “Free Fall” in spite of all the rage and fury. It’s skilfully done and of course it makes the result more interesting. The same applies musically. Guitar solos interweave with the thrash-infested Groove Metal as you might expect but on “Is That WaY MiNE” there’s even an element of symphonic Black Metal running through the customary Melodic Death/Thrash offering. This is a good track with a variety of moods and it also serves the purpose of diversifying the output after the onslaught of the first two tracks. “frontline soLDiers”, as the title suggests, is militaristic, but also poignant while keeping the omnipresent aggression and flair.
The publicity for Trendkill Method suggests that they are trying to emulate weaker bands with a view to operating on a level playing field. Well, I have news. Trendkill Method, who formed in 1997 and released an album in 2005 prior to this one are already every bit as good and better than many of Western bands of a similar nature. There’s a lot in this album in terms of the variety of music and themes. It also has a “live” feel. I’m sure the vibe of “Affective Arousal” will appeal to people wishing to expand some energy and aggression. At the same time, its technical qualities are considerable. To build on this, Trendkill Method need to follow their natural instincts. “Affective Arousal” shows clearly that they have inside them plenty of ideas which they can develop.
http://www.myspace.com/trendkillmethod
Andrew Doherty
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