Since By Man's second album proves pretty disappointing...
With a name that sounds suspiciously emo, and a self-conciously "artsy" album booklet, I admit that I didn't sit down and listen to this album expecting to hear the next Dream Theater. The aforementioned artsy booklet is mostly composed of some dimly-lit and surreal photographs, presumably from the titular 'Hotel Apocalypse'. But despite initial impressions, 'Pictures From the Hotel Apocalypse' is not a concept album. Instead, it's ten songs of vaguely proggy metalcore, with politicised lyrics in the "American Idiot" vein, and delightful song titles like...erm...'Lactating Teens'.
The second album from the Milwaukee-based quintet does do some things right. The melodic/harsh style that is so typical of metalcore is mixed up a bit, so it's not just "harsh verse, melodic chorus". Instead it's "harsh verse, harsh chorus, melodic verse, shouty chorus", or some such innovative approach to songcrafting. The melodic parts are admittedly rather interesting at times, with some very lush guitar riffs, particularly in the first minute of "Inside Lines". Unfortunately, then the vocals come in; a bizzare rap/shouting hybrid style that suggests the poor vocalist didn't have a clue what style he was aiming for.
Normally I would praise a band for straying beyond the safe confines of their genre, as SinceByMan's press release says, "forging ahead for other [sic] to follow", but as a comitted prog fan I'm actually vaguely insulted and upset by this album. It sullies the good name of progressive metal, a genre which gave us bands as talented and diverse as Dream Theater, Opeth, After Forever and Lord Belial. Then along comes this, the runt of the prog litter. It's all here - the unorthodox song structures; the mid-song tempo changes; the ample technical ability of the musicians. As well as the aforementioned guitar work, the occasionally used keyboard parts add tasty melody and the right amount of weirdness, At times they sound, wonderfully, like R2-D2 screaming insults at a Casio whilst headbanging it. Which is surprisingly pleasant, actually. Yet it never really works, the songs sounding incoherent even after repeated listens, and it's never really an enjoyable listen, aside from the odd few seconds of isolated pleasance.
It's a shame, really, as judging from the musicianship on show here, and the inventive touches apparant on many songs - such as the slow and slightly eerie instrumental 'Invocation' - SinceByMan have the potential to play some intelligant and enjoyable metalcore. They just seem to lack the quality songs which would allow them to do this. Perhaps their next album will fulfill the promises in it's press release, and, indeed, there's some hope offered by the closing track 'Photographer Ex Post Facto'. The honeyed female vocals, provided by someone who sounds surprisingly like Liv Kristine of goth metallers Leaves' Eyes, clash with the metalcore screams, in a progressive soundscape that really shows off what this band can be. But the majority of 'Pictures From the Hotel Apocalypse' just doesn't work, except as a sorry tale of wasted potential and over-ambitious, pretentious musicians.