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Artist: KEEN
Album: Dramas In Formaldehyde
Year: 2006
Italian band KeeN couldn’t really excite me in the
beginning of their existence, but their “Dying Life” EP
seemed to be a real ice breaker, and made me keep a
closer eye on this band. According to the other reviews
on that release (it recieved 14 times a “top demo” title!)
I didn’t stand alone on this quest, and so KeeN was
forced to come with a new and quality album soon. And,
so they did, or at least they tried: “Dramas In
Formaldehyde” has been released on december 26th, 2006.
Is this release able to continue the succes they
recieved with “Dying Life”? Read this review and you’ll
know the answer quite soon!
After the intro, ‘Dramas In Formaldehyde’ kicks off with
the title track. This track contains sampling that
reminds me a little to the Adams family, though it
happens to be an easy listening gothic rock likely track.
The chorus is constructed quite well. ‘I Don’t Care’ is
a more powerful track, with bashing drums and mechanized
guitars. The chorus, specially the sampling, is one that
gets stuck in your mind quite easely. The piano
intermezzo, accompanied by accoustic guitarwork, is one
that fits the song excellent. ‘Stuntman’ is a song that
I already heard before, because it was featured on
KeeN’s MySpace profile. This is one of the faster tracks
on the album, with some excellent EBM sampling and a
drifting bassline. ‘Step By Step’ has the best synth
line on the record, and yes this was a hard desicion.
The vocals of Shirley are a little Marilyn Manson likely
on this track. ‘Lost My Pride’ is maybe the one track on
this album that comes the closest to the label
‘industrialized metal’, with the KMFDM likely guitarwork,
the crazy sampling and the excellent drumworks. ‘Dead In
Vain’ is a dark and catchy track, with some excellent
synth work and powerful guitars. The track is easy
listening, and the vocal line is catchy here and there.
This all combined make this track my favourite one of
the album. ‘Can Feel’ is a total different track, with
orchestral works and accoustic guitars. This one can be
described as the ballad of the album I suppose.
With this album, KeeN has proven that they managed to
stay on the high level of ‘Dying Life’, and that they
even managed to book some progression at certain points.
The vocal sessions are more mature and steady, and the
synth works sound more fitting. This all combined
together should explain the vote.
Vote: 92 / 100
Review by: Gerardo |
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01. Rejection
02. Dramas In
Formaldehyde
03. I Don't Care
04. Stuntman
05. Step By Step
06. Lost My Pride
07. Dead In Vain
08. Can Feel |
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