Review by Shadowdoom9 (Andi) for Fear of Domination - Distorted Delusions (2014)
Fear of Domination have, well, dominated in their industrial melodeath sound with their first two albums. Anyone who has followed them that early would know what to expect in their 3rd album Distorted Delusions. A couple things are different here, but not for the whole better...
For one thing, keyboardist Niina Telen is out of the band. Her synths were really driving the band through with their style, and her background cleans gave some songs a touch of depth. She was replaced by Lasse Raelahti who can do solid synth-work, but it kinds of lower the quality with its strange effects. There are barely any female vocals in the album, and when there are, they're sung by a guest vocalist, Helena Haaparanta.
"PaperDoll" starts the album almost like a continuation of the more modernized melodeath sound Raintime had in their last album Psychromatic. "Wicked World" has the drop C riffing of God Forbid while staying firmly in their industrial melodeath. Kicking off "Violence Disciple" is some strange glitchy effects in Saku Solin's screaming. This might throw off some fans who prefer to hear his vocals in smooth production. "Parasite" again shows that industrial metal doesn't have to be like what Godflesh and Circle of Dust have. It's all about melody and drama in that ballad-ish highlight.
"Deus Ex Machina" mixes synths and metal as greatly as Crossfaith. The somewhat bad "Organ Grinder" is too weird for my liking, though some great moments there make it OK. But then we have a gem in "II". And another one in "Legion", my favorite track here. Guitar/keyboard melodies reach an intense height, and the ending climax is EPIC.
"Needle" doesn't stand out as much as the previous two, but I enjoy the guest vocals by Helena Haaparanta. "Dead Space" is another powerful highlight, and another one of my favorites here. "The Great Dictator" is like a more futuristic take on the power metal-infused melodeath of Gyze and Kalmah, though it ends up sounding a bit pompous. For the bonus Kuroshio remix of "Legion"... Why did they have to f*** up the best tracks of each album with sh*tty remixes?! This one is the worst!
Distorted Delusions is still great, yet some things make it a step down from their previous albums. Maybe later on, I might check out their remaining 3 albums so far and see if they have the first two albums' greatness. No matter the missteps this band might have, there's nothing to fear....
Favorites: "PaperDoll", "Parasite", "Deus Ex Machina", "II", "Legion", "Dead Space"