As I received this cd, my boss told me that this band is formed by many influences. ‘Is this something unique?’ I wonder. I read the information that has been sent with the cd: ‘Technical in parts without becoming overbearing, Frantic Bleep allow their art the space to breath and the freedom to leave interpretation with the listener, while most importantly offering a devastating vision of open ended imagination.’
Now I’m starting to get reeaally curious.

The cd begins nice with a slow, Symphony X alike opening with some nice melodies, well used synths and good vocals. I stay focused. But then, my god. There are songs that consist off two or three simple, annoying riffs, the guitar sounds like hell, like a claxon on a child’s new bike. The vocals sound like someone is having a bad dream and talking while asleep, is not singing at all, yet not talking either, trying hard to make something clear. Normally I ask those persons to shut up.

As I continue I hear a song that you normally hear in a museum when passing strange skeletons to make you feel weird. Yet, the attention lies not on the music, but on something else. Weird effects, simple chords on a keyboard and something that sounds like crying whales. The whisperer tells a story no one understands.
The rest of the songs are all speeded up. Heavy riffs, nothing special though, slow parts, also nothing special, heavy riffs, slow parts. You get the point. And, sorry to say, the vocals aren’t that special too. Trying to shout like Dani Filth? I don’t think it should be tried again. All the variation, it just doesn’t seem to fit. And I don’t mean that I’m not open for a lot of different styles, but this band just doesn’t seem to understand that as a whole, also single songs have to brought up well, not the fact that a lot of different styles are combined.

So my conclusion: I can really hear that Frantic Bleep has tried bring something new, putting a lot of variety in one disk. Thumbs up for the courage. Fast, slow, heavy, at ease, it all passes by. But the band failed to come up with it well. It is not in inspiring, I didn’t feel freedom and my imagination was not let to be free. So my sense apparatus didn’t feel comfortable with it.

Line Up:
Patrick Scantlebury:  Guitars/Synth
Eywin Sundstrøm:  guitars
Sten Svendheim:  drums

Tracklisting:
1. A Survey
2. The Expulsion
3. Sins of Omission
4. ….But a Memory
5. Mausolos
6. Curtainraiser
7. Mandaughter
8. Nebolous Termini
9. Cone