| Experimentation can be quite the two-headed beast. When boundaries are broken, a band may either be hailed or hated for the elements they bring to an already solid genre. Alchemist split right down the middle when it comes to praise or haze. Following in the footsteps of fellow labelmates Amorphis, "Organasm" is the end result of a group that has meshed metal with lighter elements. While not as far fetched as the aforementioned, Alchemist certainly lack in the metal department, although veterans may tell you differently. "Astral Spectrum", the track which the disc, has a spacy feel to it, with some ancient Egyption undertones. Towards the end of the song, it gets rocking, but at that point it's too little too late. Musically, this album says a lot about talent and attention. It's definitely a well though out disc. However, sometimes using your brain too much can cause you to overthink things and make bad decisions. The vocals harm this effort as well. This album is quite forward thinking, but I think I'd stick with the tried and true before I'd jump on Alchemist's bandwagon. |