Album Year: 2013
Genre: Melodic Deathcore / Melodic Death Metal
Location: Germany / Malaysia
One Sense Too Much is an undeniably heavy group of musicians. Following the most recent trend of creating music over the Internet, this group comprised this release after being a band for over a year, while at the same time being thousands of miles away from each other. Due to personal reasons that unintentionally delayed its release, “Her Neverland” has finally come to destroy the ears of those that listen… in the best sense of the word “destroy” as it pertains to metal music.
First off, right away you’re going to notice three things. Number one, the drums are made using drum software, which automatically takes away from the release’s authenticity and integrity. A lot of the drums can seem “clicky” at times (especially the snare and bass drum) and don’t convey a true drum tone. Also, it even seems like they are off tempo at times, but this could be intentional (listen to the end of “That Hourglass Dwells a Dreamer” carefully). Number two, vocalist Dixon Jong is far too confident with the use of his high and guttural screams. His lows are incredible and really pack a huge punch, but his highs are screechy and seem strained, while his gutturals are incomprehensible and poorly executed. Finally, you’ll notice that two of the tracks are instrumentals, while the intro song has all but one line of lyrical content. I’m not saying this is bad, but I don’t usually see this too often and figured it was worth mentioning.
That being said, this release is pretty solid aside from the three factors above. The guitar textures are layered nicely and really make the release a joy to listen to. The tone complements Jong’s vocals quite nicely and also makes the release seem much heavier. They have the ability to draw your attention away from the sometimes-misleading vocal and drum content on the release. “Suddenly Deep” and “Of Beauteous Craft” both show the guitarist’s ability to craft melodic shapes, but tracks such as “That Hourglass Dwells a Dreamer” and “Damnation Through Design” show the guitarists impressive technicality and ability to work off each other to carry the form of the song until the very last note.
This release is bone chilling at times with its heavy aspects and technicality, but its overall lack of diverse vocal textures and interesting drum fills and breakdowns really seemed to disappoint me. I believe this band can put out something much better in the future. Some practice and an actual drummer are needed for the band to reach the next level of metal success.
For Fans of: Carnifex, As Blood Runs Black, The Black Dahlia Murder, Oceano, Chelsea Grin
Rating: 6.4/10