Band: Equal Minds Theory (Russia) Album: Equal Minds Theory (2011) Genre: Mathcore / Deathcore What I know is that this is Ruskie Metal: Equal Minds Theory inhabits Russia’s capitol of Moscow. I know there are five band members and that they claim to do fierce live performances. Judging by that band pic and a whole bunch of other ones on their Facebook I’d say that’s true. I also would know the members’ names, but I can’t read Cyrillic. So then I’m clean out of facts and all I’ve got to go on is ‘ze music’ on this self-titled release I’ve got from the band.

Based on the date listed on the group’s BandCamp (you can also stream and buy the album there), the record came out in October of last year. It contains 37 minutes of blistering, face-melting mathematically-inspired ear-punishment, divided across eleven tracks. The division is a little unfair though; one song’s as short as twenty seconds, while the album’s closing song puts in over fourteen minutes.

But to be quite frank, I can hardly make out one song from another anyway. Sometimes there’s no pause at all and our Russian five-piece simply blasts on at full force. If the term ”sonic assault” was ever an accurate descriptor of music, it’s here. Some people might say the same about ”noise” too. But that’d be a mistake, at least partly. There is a whole stack of moments in which Equal Minds Theory is nothing more than guitar feedback, sustain and a whole lot of Gremlins fuckin’ with your head. Just a complete orgy of noises, effects, oral farting and what not. These moments start to stack up more as you progress into the second half of the album.

But, getting back to my point, to dismiss EMT as noise therefore is cutting corners and inaccurate. The band has clearly got the capability to write capturing songs and sections and they display an unmatched energy and liveliness. It’s a bit like feeding candy and coke to a kid with ADHD and then start poking it continuously with a stick: a roaring rage frenzy ensues that starts leading a life of its own and loses track of what it’s pissed off at in the first place. That doesn’t mean EMT is only that. There are times of the anger catching a breather or just settling down for a few moments. Groove and hooky structures are displayed throughout the EP, but particularly during the easier moments can you really get close to the band’s musical abilities.

Don’t expect harmony and catchy melodies and emotions on display will not typically give you that ”kick-ass” attitude. Rather, EMT is psychedelic beyond all recognition and sometimes really has the power to get you down in the dirt, only to kick you back up again in a next frenzy. If I imagine myself behind the wheel with this on, I see myself driving over a hundred mph at one moment and not even twenty the next. In particular the fourteen-minute closer The Icebreaker has the power to slow you down, with its slow pace and more contemplating attitude.

Equal Minds Theory will appear in particular to fans of Deathcore with a high fucked-up factor and ADHD people with colorful T-shirts. But setting them aside as just another Deathcore act doesn’t seem right. There’s just too much technicality going on, whether it all sounds good or not. In all honesty, this is not for me. I’m a man for Insomnium, Omnium Gatherum and other formations that are high on melody and groove. EMT is about as different from that as shit is from piss, but there’s no denying the musical complexity here.

My Grade: 7/10
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Tags: deathcore, mathcore, review, Russian

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 28th, 2012 at 8:00 am and is filed under Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.