YAKUZA — Way Of The Dead (review)

YAKUZA — Way Of The Dead album cover Album · 2002 · Progressive Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3.5/5 ·
UMUR
"Way of the Dead" is the 2nd full-length studio album by US experimental metal act Yakuza. After gaining attention with their debut full-length studio album, "Amount to Nothing (2001)" with was released on the small Del Diablo label, the band caught the attention of Century Media Records, who signed the band and released "Way of the Dead" in 2002.

The band play a really eclectic and at times experimental type of metal. The music is somewhat rooted in hardcore and there are some raw sludgy elements in the music too, but especially the addition of saxophone/clarinet to the band´s more traditional rock instrumentation of bass, guitars, drums and vocals, provide the sound with an avant garde (at times free jazz type) element. There are also keyboards and percussion on the album.

The vocals by Bruce Lamont (who also handles saxophone/clarinet) are predominantly shouting and raw, but he is one of those rare breed raw type vocalists who manage to put melodies into his harsh and distorted singing style. A feature that provides the vocal part of the music with a nice dynamic. The music is generally aggressive with edgy hardcore/sludge metal riffing, heavy yet cleverly played rhythms and the occasional mellower part, which are no less intriguing.

"Way of the Dead" is a pretty long album with it´s 70:42 minutes long playing time. The first seven tracks on the album are pretty much as I´ve described the music above, but the 8th and closing track "01000011110011" is very different from the rest of the tracks. It´s a 43:24 minutes long jamming type track, with no heavy distored riffing, no vocals and a focus on atmospheric saxophone/clarinet playing. A mellow, laid back and ambient track. I enjoy the track for about 10 minutes and then my attention wanders. If you ask me there´s no reason for this track to drag on for so long, when so little happens, but I guess people more into long drawn ambient and atmospheric music will appreciate this more than I do. I much prefer the more "regular" tracks on the album, which are all full of great energy, adventurous songwriting ideas, and high level musicianship. Add to that a powerful sound production and "Way of the Dead" is not only a quality album release by Yakuza, it´s a highly recommended listen. If "01000011110011" had been shorter or had progressed in a more interesting direction I would have rated "Way of the Dead" with a full 4 star (80%) rating, but because of that track a half star comes off and therefore a 3.5 star (70%) rating is warranted.
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Metal Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

MMA TOP 5 Metal ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
Master of Puppets Thrash Metal
METALLICA
Buy this album from our partners
Paranoid Heavy Metal
BLACK SABBATH
Buy this album from our partners
Moving Pictures Hard Rock
RUSH
Buy this album from our partners
Powerslave NWoBHM
IRON MAIDEN
Buy this album from our partners
Rising Heavy Metal
RAINBOW
Buy this album from our partners

New Metal Artists

New Metal Releases

The Goblin Sessions Heavy Metal
THEM
Buy this album from MMA partners
Tormenta De Arena Metalcore
VORAGO
Buy this album from MMA partners
Infinite Metalcore
FUTURE GHOST
Buy this album from MMA partners
Heretic Melodic Death Metal
SUNCINDER
Buy this album from MMA partners
The Skull Burned Wearing Hell Like A Life Vest As The Night Wept Mathcore
FRONTIERER
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

OPETH`S Epic Headline Show at Bloodstock 2024 | YouTube Premiere | Full Set | August 9th, 2024
OPETH
666sharon666· 2 hours ago
Opeth '§4' Visualizer/Lyrics Video
OPETH
666sharon666· 2 hours ago
Future Ghost - Wolves (Official Music Video)
FUTURE GHOST
Bosh66· 1 day ago
Future Ghost - Nemesis Game (Official Music Video)
FUTURE GHOST
Bosh66· 1 day ago
Harrowed TwentyTenVideo
HARROWED
Bosh66· 3 days ago
More videos

New MMA Metal Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Metal News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed