Izdavač/Label: Atomic Fire Records
Datum izlaska/Release date: 13. 10. 2023.
Produkcija/Producer: Matt Smith
Duljina albuma/Running Time: 66.04 min
Žanr/Genre: Progressive Metal
6,5/10
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Theocracy – Mosaic, izašao 13. 10. 2023. za Atomic Fire Records
»Theocracy u laganom padu iz milosti«
Atomic Fire Records su očito kao dom melodičnog metala preuzeli ulogu zastavonoše od izdavača Frontiers. Možemo se samo nadati da se neće zaplesti u ideju osnivanja tisuća dueta, trija i izmišljenih supergrupa, kao što je to učinio vlasnik spomenute etikete Frontiers.
Theocracy su bend koji je započeo kao one-man projekt pjevača, skladatelja, tekstopisca i multiinstrumentalista Matta Smitha, svjesnog i pobožnog kršćanina.
Za njega sam prvi put čuo kad je objavio kratku parodiju na Metallica album St. Anger, odnosno njegov zvuk. Odmah mi je bio simpatičan.
Godine 2003. pod imenom Theocracy izdao je istoimeni album na kojem je sve otpjevao, odsvirao sve instrumente i isprogramirao bubnjeve. 2008. izdao je Mirror of Souls uz pomoć prijatelja gitarista Jonathana Hindsa i pravog, živog bubnjara Shawna Bensona.
Do 2011. uspio je sastaviti pravi bend s kompetentnim solo gitaristom Vanom Allenom Woodom i basistom Jaredom Oldhamom. Duh pravog benda jako se osjetio na albumu As the World Bleeds, koji je, smatram, i dalje vrhunac Mattova stvaralaštva.
2016. slijedio je pad kvalitete s izdavanjem vrlo blijedog albuma Ghost Ship, i u toj se točki Matt morao odlučiti kako, što i kamo.
Čekati smo morali skoro točno sedam godina, do listopada 2023., da nas Theocracy razvesele i prosvijetle novim albumom, zgodno nazvanim Mosaic. U međuvremenu je Van Allen Wood svojim posve nekršćanskim djelima i ponašanjem zaslužio šut iz benda, a zamijenio ga je iskusni gitarski čarobnjak Taylor Washington iz benda Paladin, koji je u komadu Sinsidious posudio i nekoliko vokala.
Što nam je Matt s kolegama skuhao ovaj put? Na prvo, pa i na deseto slušanje rekao bih da je to klasična Theocracy minestrona, sa svim klasičnim sastojcima. Čist zvuk, melodični zborski napjevi, tone dvostrukog bas bubnja, speed-power gitarske dionice i iznenađujuće slab Mattov vokal, kojem ću se još vratiti. Naravno, ne smijemo zaboraviti kršćanski obojene tekstove, pune nade, brige, samorefleksije i vjere u najvišega. Hvala Bogu (naravno) Matt u tekstovima nikad ne zapadne u propovijedanje, nego se pobrine da se svaki pošteni ateist, poput mene, može posvetiti glazbi i tekstovima bez prijetnji paklenom vatrom.
Kao što rado radi moja supruga profesorica, najprije ću krenuti s pohvalama, a onda dolaze stvari iza riječi »ali«. Produkcija je vrhunska, s dovoljno niskih tonova da s pravom možemo upotrijebiti riječ »metal«. Redoslijed komada dobro je promišljen, lijepo se izmjenjuju brži komadi i oni srednjeg tempa, s obveznom baladom The Greatest Hope pred kraj albuma i 19-minutnim epom Red Sea skroz na repu. Glazba je vrhunski power metal skandinavskog tipa s laganom prstohvatom progresivca i speed metala. Novi bubnjar Ernie Topran brine se za dovoljno razigranu ritmičku podlogu, a jako se potrudio i novi solo gitarist Washington, koji je odlično opravdao svoj angažman. Njegova vodeća gitara uvijek je u prvom planu, solaže su promišljene i lijepo zamišljene, a istodobno se potpuno podređuju Mattovim kompozicijskim postupcima. Čovjek bi rekao, stvarno jedan visokokvalitetni power metal album!
»ALI«
Nikad nije dobro kad moraš već kod naslova polovice pjesama posegnuti za rječnikom. Šalim se.
Theocracy ima sličan problem kao Sonata Arctica, odnosno glavni i jedini autor Matt Smith ima sličan problem kao glavni i jedini autor Tony Kakko. Njihovi su kompozicijski postupci toliko usvojeni da iskusan power metal slušatelj odmah može predvidjeti kamo će skrenuti melodija, koja će biti sljedeća rima i kad slijedi ritmički prijelaz. Ukratko, komadi su predvidljivi. Ta je činjenica posebno smetajuća jer ploča počinje doista odličnim Flicker, pravom power metal atomskom bombom. A onda, nažalost, sljedeći komadi ne dosežu taj intenzitet i živost.
Drugi je problem Mattov vokal. Baš kao vokal Joacima iz HammerFall, vrlo je melodičan, pouzdan, vokalne su melodije zanimljive i zarazne, ali je neshvatljivo, narodski rečeno, šlampav. Još nisam načisto je li problem u tehnici snimanja ili u glasnicama. U svakom slučaju, Mattovo jadikovanje zna biti naporno, baš kao i Joacimovo.
I na kraju, rijetke kompozicije u heavy metalu zaslužuju duljinu od 19 minuta. A Red Sea definitivno nije jedna od njih. Previše ponovljenih melodijskih uzoraka, predugih instrumentalnih dionica i nezanimljivih ritmova. Da su stvar skratili na podnošljivih 8-9 minuta, bilo bi sasvim dovoljno.
Završno mišljenje: Mosaic je bolji od prethodnika, ponajprije zahvaljujući već spomenutom Flickeru i ultramelodičnom video singlu Return to Dust, kao i već spomenutom Washingtonu na solo gitari. No ne dostiže odličan i za ono vrijeme svjež album Mirror of Souls, a kamoli neponovljivi As the World Bleeds. Nažalost.
Autor: Igorac
Theocracy – Mosaic, released 10/13/2023 by Atomic Fire Records
“Theocracy slightly falling from grace”
As the home of melodic metal, Atomic Fire Records has clearly taken over as the flag bearer from Frontiers. We can only hope that they don’t get caught up in the idea of creating thousands of duos, trios and imaginary supergroups like the owner of the Frontiers in question.
Theocracy is a band that began as a one-man project of singer, composer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Matt Smith, a conscious and devout Christian.
I first heard of him when he posted a short parody of Metallica’s album St. Anger or rather its sound. I immediately liked him.
In 2003, under the name Theocracy, he released an self titled album, on which he sang everything, played all the instruments and programmed the drums. In 2008, he released Mirror of Souls with the help of his friend guitarist Jonathan Hinds and real live drummer Shawn Benson.
By 2011, he managed to put together a real band with competent solo guitarist Van Allen Wood and bassist Jared Oldham. The spirit of the real band was very prominent on the album As the World Bleeds, which, in my opinion, is still the pinnacle of Matt’s work.
2016 was followed by a drop in quality with the release of the very lackluster album Ghost Ship and at this point Matt had to decide how and what and where.
We had to wait almost exactly seven years until October 2023 for Theocracy to delight and enlighten us with a new album, conveniently titled Mosaic. Meanwhile, Van Allen Wood was kicked out of the band for his completely unchristian actions and behavior, and was replaced by seasoned guitar wizard Taylor Washington of the band Paladin, who also lent some vocals on Sinsidious.
What did Matt and his colleagues cook for us this time? On the first listen, as well as on the tenth, I would say classic Theocracy minestrone, with all the classic ingredients. Clean sound, melodic choral chants, double bass drum galore, speed-power guitar passages and Matt’s surprisingly weak vocals, which I will return to later. Of course, we must not forget the Christian-tinged texts, full of hope, concern, self-reflection and faith in the almighty. Thank goodness (of course) Matt never gets preachy in the lyrics, but makes sure any honest atheist like myself can engage with the music and lyrics without the threat of hellfire.
As my professor wife likes to do, I’ll start with the compliments first, and then come the matters after the word “but”. The production is top-notch, with enough bass to justify the use of the word “metal”. The order of the compositions is well thought out, the faster pieces and the mid-tempo ones follow each other nicely, with the obligatory ballad The Greatest Hope towards the end of the album and the 19-minute epic Red Sea right at the tail end. The music is top-notch power metal of the Scandinavian type with a slight pinch of progressive and speed metal. The new drummer Ernie Topran takes care of a sufficiently varied rhythmic base, and the new solo guitarist Washington put in a lot of effort and boldly made sure to justify his engagement. His lead guitar is always in the foreground, the solos are thoughtful and well executed, while at the same time completely submitting to Matt’s compositional touches. One would say, a really high quality power metal album!
“BUT”
It’s never good when you have to use a dictionary for the titles of half the songs. Kidding.
Theocracy has a similar problem as Sonata Arctica has or main and sole author Matt Smith has a similar problem as main and sole author Tony Kakko has. Their compositional approaches are so automated that an experienced power metal listener can immediately predict where the melody will turn, what the next rhyme will be and when the rhythmic transition will follow. In short, the songs are predictable. This fact is particularly disturbing because the record opens with the truly excellent Flicker, which is a true power metal atom bomb. Then, unfortunately, the following pieces fail to achieve this intensity and exuberance.
Another problem is Matt’s vocals. Similar to the vocals of Joacim from HammerFall, they are very melodic, reliable, the vocal melodies are interesting and infectious, but they are somehow ,,, feeble to put it bluntly. I am still not sure whether the problem is in the recording technique or in the vocal cords. Basically, Matt’s whining can be annoying, just like Joacim’s.
And finally, rare compositions in heavy metal deserve a length of 19 minutes. And Red Sea is definitely not one of those. Too many repeated melodic patterns, too long instrumental passages and uninteresting rhythms. If they shortened the piece to a bearable 8-9 minutes, it would be quite enough.
Final verdict: Mosaic is better than its predecessor, mainly thanks to the aforementioned Flicker and the ultra-melodic Return to Dust video single, as well as Washington on lead guitar. However, it does not come close the excellent and for the time fresh album Mirror of Souls, let alone the inimitable As the World Bleeds. Unfortunately.
Author: Igorac
Tracklist:
1. Flicker
2. Anonymous
3. Sinsidious (The Dogs Of War)
4. Return To Dust
5. The Sixth Great Extinction
6. Deified
7. The Greatest Hope
8. Liar, Fool, Or Messiah
9. Red Sea
Line-up:
Matt Smith – vokal / vocals
Taylor Washington – gitara / guitar
Jonathan Hinds – gitara / guitar
Jared Oldham – bas-gitara / bass
Ernie Topran – bubnjevi / drums
