Unpredictably predictable release from death-defying metallers
I can remember when I first listened to Candiria's '300 Percent Density' album. It was released at a time when rap-metal was all the rage, but Candiria bucked the trend by wisely keeping these two disparate elements separate to create a metal album that was interspersed with straight rap tracks. It was an interesting and ultimately successful technique, and one that as far as I'm aware has not been utilised by any other band before or since. The metal parts were, as the title would suggest, crushingly heavy, and also highlighted Candiria's fondness for technicality with mind-bendingly intricate time changes and jazzy chord progressions.
This follow up has been a long time coming; arriving a full 3 years after 'The C.O.M.A. Imprint'. OK, so it's not quite Guns n' Roses' Chinese Democracy (12 years and counting...) but it's still quite a wait. However, this hiatus hasn't been down to indolence, 'artistic differences' or the dreaded writer's block – the band have actually been recovering from a near-fatal bus crash that occurred when on tour in September '02, hence the album title and the image of the twisted wreck on the cover. Bassist Michael MacIvor says of the incident, "I can tell you that it was the most violent and intense moment I've ever experienced", as a huge 18-wheel tractor-trailer ploughed into the back of their tiny van, leaving each band member hospitalised with critical injuries.
The album provides a slight twist on the classic adage, because it appears that what doesn't kill you makes you more melodic. The complexity and aggression have been toned down, and what was once Dillinger Escape Plan is now more Quicksand – especially Coma's new-found singing voice, which is remarkably similar to Walter's urgent half-shout. MacIvor states that, "It's less quirky and less from the jazz side. We did that in the past and we don't want to make the same record twenty times." – a fair point, because it could be argued that being consistently unpredictable becomes, well, a little predictable after a while.
'Remove Yourself' is probably the biggest musical departure for the Brooklyn boys; a soaring SOAD-esque number that has 'single' written all over its radio-friendly hooks. If you're a musical dyslexic that thinks 'change' is a four letter word, then 'Vacant' and '1000 Points Of Light' should be more to your liking – clawing and lurching like the Candiria of old. Most of the tracks are of a more straightforward nature however, and it seems like all of their pent-up experimental urges were unleashed upon 'The Rutherford Experiment' – a prog odyssey with 80's synthwork that's pimpier than an entire series of Miami Vice. They have also cut back on the rap, with Coma's fluid rhymes restricted to the Caribbean flavoured '9mm Solution'.
The European release comes laden with two bonus live tracks; 'Mathematics' and the imaginatively titled 'Improvisational Jam' - both of which were recorded in Candiria's native New York infront of an enthusiastic hometown crowd.
'What Doesn't Kill You...' may be a more simple and direct album than we are used to from Candiria, but that doesn't mean that it is necessarily worse – just different. Tracks like 'Remove Yourself' and 'Down' suggest a potential for commercial success; a thing that hasn't exactly gone hand-in-hand with the uncompromising music of their previous albums. Whilst this will no doubt cost them the support of the more closed-minded of their fans, it could well be the start of a bright new beginning for Candiria; and after surviving a near-death experience who are we to begrudge them that?