Artwork for We The Fallen
Brutality made audio. That’s it. That’s the only way of describing this album, which is one of the best Industrial albums of the year, if not the best.
After their last album on 2007, Psyclon Nine did some extensive touring here and there, before finally working in this album. Indeed, they spent a lot of time in the album, but definitely it was worthy. It is, perhaps, the best album by Psyclon Nine. Ever.
Even though I’m tagging the release as “Industrial album”, after listening to it a couple of times, I’m not sure if it is the correct tag. Psyclon has moved to a hole new concept of music. While the keyboard synths of Nero are still there, I’m not sure if it can still be considered purely Industrial. It sounds more like an Industrial Metal album.
This album, is not suited at all for Divine Infekt fans. The ones who didn’t like Crwn Thy Frnicatr will probably hate this one. Luckily, every one seems to like it. Take the vocals from INRI, but make them harsher. Take the guitar riffs from Crwn Thy Frnicatr, but make them heavier. Take also the same drum style, just a bit faster. Finally, take some other Metal elements, and fuse them all with Vlixx and Jon Siren.
There you have it. We, The Fallen.
A brutal introduction does not goes further than Bellum in Abyssus. This introduction though, is not focused on just being heavy. Soulless (The Makers Reflection) is a good advice of what you’ll be listening for the next hour. Almost no artificial sounds. Instead, an extensive use of guitar riffs and drums, covering the background with barely noticeable synths. It’s supposedly, Johan Van Roy helped Psyclon Nine with this introduction, but.. I can’t actually catch any element from him. They usually pop up immediately, making you look up the track to see if it was made by him.
Following up, the title track. We The Fallen. As I previously stated, this track (as is the whole album) is very, very good. But it’s not meant for purist, industrial fans. Psyclon Nine is moving towards a more metal sound, but this is not bad at all. They actually sound very good. The track involves heavy guitar riffs, along with a different drum style. A more acoustic one.
Nero’s vocals remained almost the same for this release. They are a bit more clear now. If you carefully pay attention you can understand the lyrics, something which simply wasn’t possible with Crwn Thy Frnicatr.
Another worthy song, is Heartworm. The whole concept of this album is based on the idea of Nero being a Heartworm, as he stated in an interview. He wanted to “look at people like emotional parasites, worming their way into the hearts of their victims in order to have some sort of influence on their actions”. (Wikipedia) I couldn’t help remembering Visceral Holocaust when I heard the introduction. It features the same drum solo, with a different speed. Also, the same synths Nero did for the previous album, can be heard in this track, but with guitars.
A track that is making the most noise, is Thy Serpent Tongue. I’ve heard nothing more than good comments about it. Some people consider it the best track in the album. The track features a repeating, cycled drum style with a background fully covered by guitar, just the way of some industrial metal tracks.
I could keep one describing every good track, but hell.. Every track is good. As the previous time, the album announces two pit stops. The first one is marked by Derelict (God Forsaken), just before Widowmaker. The following track is completely metal-based. Other grunts than those of Nero can be heard across the track. I didn’t like it that much, but it’s not bad.
The last stop, before the end of the album is Of Decay (An Exit), that takes just the same concept The Room had. An intriguing, silent introduction for the next track, Suicide Note Lullaby. Now, how I love this track. A slow paced introduction, followed a heavier bridge, and another slow paced interval. The guitar reminded me a lot of Diablo II. Don’t ask me why.
The album’s end is very slow. Both As One With The Flies and Under The Judas Tree are slow tracks, compared to the hit-and-run style of the previous tracks. This is a good end though, if you have the album in repeat mode. It ends slow, and as it starts again, you don’t hear a complete dephase of speed, as the introduction is not that fast.
All in all, I consider it a very good album. As stated before, it’s probably the best release of this year. While some pure industrial fans won’t enjoy it that much, underground music lovers who listen to Metal and Industrial will find this album a very interesting mix of both worlds.
