kluseba Communic surely made a big step forward with their second record. Their compositions are more complex, more thought out and more majestic. The band also sounds a lot less than Nevermore as they did on their debut record even if these influences are still too much present to call this album unique. The production and the artwork are though once again outstanding.

"Under A Luminous Sky" is a great and mysterious introduction to a progressive album but the band's technical thrash riffs kick already in and give the song a fairly interesting drive. The vocals remind of Nevermore but in the higher parts also of King Diamond or Judas Priest. This shows just the great vocal range of the singer and proves me that he could do much better than he actually does by copying the style of other well known singers. The guitar work sounds a little bit like Tool in this track and is quite interesting.

The problem I still have with the band beside the fact that they didn't find their own style and copy too many other artists is that their songs lack of warmth, accessibility and catchiness. They are technically brilliant but heavy to digest and often way too long in my humble opinion. As on the last album, the band convinces when they take a deep breath and put calmer passages in their songs. These are the moments when they sound emotional, authentic and human. I really like the calm and melodic first minutes of the diversified "Frozen Asleep In The Park" or the enjoyable half-ballad "Watching It All Disappear" but the band always decides way too often to return to a mid tempo pace with thrash riffs and Warrel Dane reminiscences.

The calm moments are though way more present on this record as one the first one and the band seems to recognize its talent and skills and they mostly employ them in an adequate way. From that point of view the title track "Waves Of Visual Decay" is the most complete and perfect track the band has ever done and the highlight of this record but one must also mention the quite diversified closer "At Dewy Pride" that mixes in a great way the harder and softer side of a band and would be an ideal choice to represent the sound of the Norwegian group. The last songs sound very promising to me for the band's future since I have not yet listened to their last records but they definitely seem to keep on progressing.

In the end, this record is more human, more emotional and also more diversified than the first album. It's not a masterpiece but the band is on a quite good way to get into the circle of the big progressive metal bands. I begin to open myself to them and appreciate them more than before. I would judge this record as a big step forward for them and consider it as a very good progressive metal record.

kluseba This Norwegian progressive metal band with the great cover artwork can be described as a calmer version of "Nevermore". The band's influence can especially be heard in the rather mellow and faceless opener and title track "Conspiracy In Mind" and the too repetitive "Communication Sublime". Many tracks in here have a couple of good ideas but it feels as if the band wasn't courageous enough to do anything they wanted or would have been able to do. The songs repeat the same patterns in a sometimes hypnotizing but sometimes also monotonous way and are often way too long. "They Feed On Our Fear" would be an amazing song if it would be about five minutes long but ten minutes are definitely too much to keep the tension, interest and quality high in here. To be honest, some tracks get quite boring after a while like "Ocean Bed". The same riffs and vocal lines are over and over repeated and come back and back again.

The band though always convince when they use softer melodies and write emotional and dreamy power ballads such as my favourite song in here which is "The Distance" or the slightly heavier and more diversified and almost equally amazing "History Reversed" that remind me a little bit of the calmer songs of the metal icons such as "Metallica" or "Iron Maiden". The difference is that those songs are interesting and relaxing but don't have the same intense moments and the same soul as the softer tracks of the other two bands. But as this is the band's first strike and the comparison with those metal legends not quite fair, I wouldn't criticize them for that. The epic album closer "Silence Surrounds" unites the very present "Nevermore" influences with the ballad parts and would be my third highlight.

In the end, the band simply copies too many influences from "Nevermore" and writes quite repetitive and overlong tracks that don't get to the point. There are three very good tracks but on the other side four rather boring and uninspired songs that pull the balance of the album down. In the end, I can talk about a relaxing and easy to digest progressive metal record that misses some unique elements and a proper style of the band. The band doesn't vary much and sounds on a more positive term more coherent than many other progressive metal bands but I feel they took the safe way and could do much better. The album is far from being perfect but enjoyable from time to time and a must have for any fan of "Nevermore" and their music.

arcane-beautiful This album has done something which is very rare...and bands really shouldn't do this.

Now I've know these guys for a while now, and I don't have their first 2 album,s but I've heard songs from each, and I really like them.When I saw this album in a CD shop, I had to get it, just to kind of at leat own something from these guys.

I sat down ready to listen away, and then regretted it. For half an hour I was thinking, "Oh my God, this is just boring. And not that good." By the 4th song, I kind of wanted to turn it off, but only one album has actually made me turn a CD off before I finished it before (Metallica's Death Magnetic, that final instrumental was just boring as hell). Then track 5 came on and I went "This is actually a really good song"...and then it got better as each track went on.

That's really not a nice thing to do to someone. Torture them slightly for half and hour, and then pamper them the next. Sadly thats what happened. The first 4 songs are just not that great, in fact, very tedious at times, and quite annoying. Then the last 4 are so good that it kind of makes you regret thinking such bad thoughts about the band beforehand.

Now these guys are progressive metal...kind of...sort off. Well its hard to even really label these guys. Their unqiue...yet you can hear their influences clearly, yet also make them their own sound. It's great what they do, but hard when you want to describe them. I always thought they sounded like Nevermore at times, but that's mainly because of the vocals. To be honest, their just a metal band, with no real sub genre, although they do have lengthy tracks, and I mean all of their songs are over 5 minutes and can even reach the 10 minute mark. The guys can oddly enough pull it off. How they do it, I don't know, it just seems to work.

The album also seems to be a concept album, dealing with themes of existentionalism (for the first 4 songs, it really suits the mood), creation, existence, religion, time and purpose of life.

Now for the first half an hour, you will start to look like the girl on the cover...but don't worry...soon you'll like this ...> :D

It's also good to see a band from Norway, where the members don't have silly black metal nicknames (if i had a black metal nickname it would be Ygg, cause its Norwegian for the wicked one...ooooohhhh)

Now if you do buy this album, warning...it does get good. I mean really good.

1. On Ancient Ground - I have to admit, this main riff is kick ass. The song builds up pretty well at times, but the chorus is annoying. The song is cheesy at times, and the words "ancicent" "ground" and "SACRIFICE!" are said about a billion times, and they don't get better with repitition. Although...that is one good riff. 8/10

2. The Abandoned One - I like the Metallica esque chugging in the main riff. Nice enough chorus, but it's quite lifeless really, and it only makes the song more boring. 7/10

3. Becoming Of Man - The dramaticism is pretty cool. The lyrics and concept are pretty interesting. The song isn't that bad, and can be pretty cool at times, but it's still a bit bland now and then. 7/10

4. Payment Of Existence - Some of the changes are very random and don't make sense. Some kick ass riffs, and some ok moments, I guess. Pretty forgetfull.

5. Through The Labryinth Of Years - THE CHANGEAROUND!!! The song is really good. The chorus is really kick ass, especially the bridge after it. I love the melodic feel to it too. 10/10

6. Raven's Cry - I really didn't expect antything from this song, cause the title seemed a bit clichéd. But it just really turns into something pretty amazing. The intro is really cool, and the chorus kicks alot of ass. I love how the song changes from quite a slow song into a very kick ass metal song. The instrumental section also is really impressive, cause it really shows what these guys are capable of. Great arrangement, and some really kick ass vocals, especially in the chorus. 10/10

7. Unpredicabilities Of Life - Best song on the album in my opinion. The main riff is really kick ass. The chorus is amazing and the build up throughout the song really is killer. The vocals are also amazing, especially in the chorus. 10/10

8. Stone Carved Eyes - Wow! That intro is one hell of a way to start a song. Great chorus and a great arrangement keeping you on your feet. It's also not that repetitive, so it intrigues you more.

CONCLUSION: If this was an e.p...and the last 4 songs where on it, I would give it 4 or even a 5. But because the first half is very week, 3 will have to do (the first half would get a 2 at the most). I was gonna sell this album...but now I might keep it...just for those last 4 songs.

Time Signature In silence with my metal...

Genre: dark power metal with progressive tendencies

Power metal from Europe has received a bad reputation and is often criticized for being too lighthearted and silly and, worst of all, terribly cheesy. I don't mind metal which is lighthearted, but I am not too fond of too much cheesiness. Anyway, not all European power metal is lighthearted or silly or cheesy. Communic is a prime example of power metal from Europe with a very different atmosphere than the stereotypical one.

Communic delivers dark and quite heavy power metal with a melancholic feel and plenty of darkly epic atmosphere bolstered with progressive elements every now and then. But things never really get too grandiose, and there is absolutely no cheesiness or other Euro power metal sillinesses.

The guitars are downtuned, which means that this album has an overall quite heavy sound - there is a tendency to use clean guitars in the verses, and with the band performing these on downtuned guitars, even the melancholic and melodic verses have a certain oppressive darkness to them. Although there are plenty of awesome groovy and uptempo sections, heaviness is a characteristic of this album, and some tracks like "Denial" and "In Silence with my Scars" contain some almost doomy passages.

In addition to "Denial" and "In Silence With My Scars", mentionworthy tracks are "My Fallen", which is darkly melodic and contains some very nice classic-yet-different sounding riffage, and the darkly epic "Destroyer of Bloodlines" (another track with classic-yet-different riffs in it) as well as the more mellow, but no less dark, "Wayward Soul".

Oddleif Stensland's vocals are potent - and, with his darker register, more in the US power metal vein, but also with some quasi-operatic vibrato. His style of singing may be an acquired taste, but I certainly think he is a very gifted vocalist and that his powerful voice suits the nature of the music on this album very well; his singing certainly is one of the main contributors of the dark epicness mentioned above.

Recommended to fans of dark power metal everywhere.

UMUR "Waves of Visual Decay" is the 2nd full-length studio album by Norwegian metal act Communic. The album was released through Nuclear Blast Records in May 2006. The "regular" version of the album contains seven tracks. The limited edition comes with two bonus tracks. Both tracks are also featured in this version on the band´s 2004 "Conspiracy in Mind" demo and also appeared in re-recorded version on the 2005 "Conspiracy in Mind" full-length studio album. "Waves of Visual Decay" was produced by prolific Danish producer/musician Jacob Hansen.

The music on the album is semi-progressive thrashy power metal and just as the case was on the debut album a comparison to Nevermore is not that far off the mark. lead vocalist/guitarist Oddleif Stensland has a voice and a singing style that is so similar to the voice and singing style of Warrel Dane ( Nevermore, Sancturary) that it´s impossible not to notice it and mention it. There are moments on this album that sounds unmistakably like Nevermore (albeit without the outstanding guitar playing by Jeff Loomis) and I´m a bit biased if I think that´s a strength or a weakness. Communic generally has a more epic progressive style that sets them apart from Nevermore, but there are generally more similarities than differences.

The seven tracks on the 57:54 minutes long album are all between 6 and 9 minutes long and all feature hook laden choruses, heavy thrashy/power metal riffing, occasional keyboard backing, and those paatos filled powerful clean vocals by Oddleif Stensland. While I at times could have wished for a more raw and stripped down approach, it´s to mye ears still a winning formula. All tracks on "Waves of Visual Decay" are quality compositions, the playing is impeccable, and with a powerful sound production to boot, this album screams quality all the way through.

One of my complaints about the debut album was that the songwriting was a bit formulaic and vers/chorus based, and that´s unfortunately also true on "Waves of Visual Decay". Vers/chorus based songwriting isn´t always an issue, but as both the vers and the chorus sections are as long as they are on this album, it tends to get a bit repetitive when the band repeat themselves for the third time, but that´s my only complaint about the album and of course this is also an aquired taste. If Communic could "cut a bit of the fat" they would probably be a bit more appealing though. Still a 3.5 star (70%) rating is warranted.