UMUR
"Colonize and Regulate" is the debut full-length studio album by French black metal act Terrodrown. The album was released through Infernal Kommando Records in May 2008. Terrodrown was formed in 2005 in Nantes, and released the "Ruined Nation" demo in 2006.
The music on "Colonize and Regulate" is an atmospheric and industrial tinged type of black metal. In addition to drums (which are programmed), bass, and guitars, the music also features quite a lot of keyboards and sound effects, which provide the music with a gloomy sci-fi atmosphere. The vocals are raspy and almost completely unintelligible. They are also quite monotone and lifeless in execution.
The compositions are generally pretty long, and while repetition is a big part of the band´s music, the tracks are relatively varied within the genre, featuring a satisfying number of tempo changes and sections. So there are both blasting chaotic sections, and heavier mid-paced sections on the album. The real asset here is the keyboards and sound effects though, which save the sometimes generic sounding black metal attack, from becoming long drawn and tedious. The sound production unfortunately drags the whole thing down to earth again, as it´s a bit amaturish sounding, and hard on the ears. The programmed drums, which aren´t always that interesting or well programmed, is another minus in my book.
So upon conclusion "Colonize and Regulate" is a bit up and down in quality. The dark atmosphere and the sound effects which create said atmosphere are great, while the execution of the vocals, the sound production, and the programmed drums are some of the features which drag the quality of the album down. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.