Press - Reviews
21st November 2003
InsomniousNightLift review, Satan Stole My Teddybear
InsomniousNightLift - 2002 - Rage Of Achilles
Having ditched the suggestive gothic overtones of Schizo Level for a more abstract and visually intriguing image, Thanatoschizo delivers their third album with a little less of a sublime touch as their cover art and interior photos suggest. To a large degree, InsomniousNightLift is much less scattered than 2001's Schizo Level , showing some progression in the band's songwriting. However, lest anyone think this Portegeuse outfit has greatly simplified things, fear not. InsomniousNightLife wanders nearly as much as any Opeth album, except with more interesting parts and less reliance on tried'n'true formulas.
Thanatoschizo somewhat dwells within the "beauty and the beast" type of gothic doomy metal, as they toss out the required clean male and female vocals with the prerequisite growling. There are also dramatic spoken passages that really could exit the building without being missed. Musically, the band offers a fairly slow paced doom hybrid (there are sometimes hints of Anathema's The Silent Enigma in the heavier parts, but don't rush off expecting that album. Just hints, all right, pal?) that throws in clean passages, lots of keyboards and arrangements that meander throughout the various subsets of the band's musical approach without a compass. Certainly fans of Opeth will have the patience to sit through this sort of thing.
On the whole, InsomniousNightLift is a reasonably decent release that is better than bad, but still not good enough to warrant massive hooting and hollering over its virtues. Thanatoschizo is showing some growth from their previous release and growth is good. Another couple inches and they'll be ready for some big kids' pants. Till then, this CD is meant for the more dedicated lovers of wandering metal.
John Chedsey
InsomniousNightLift - 2002 - Rage Of Achilles
Having ditched the suggestive gothic overtones of Schizo Level for a more abstract and visually intriguing image, Thanatoschizo delivers their third album with a little less of a sublime touch as their cover art and interior photos suggest. To a large degree, InsomniousNightLift is much less scattered than 2001's Schizo Level , showing some progression in the band's songwriting. However, lest anyone think this Portegeuse outfit has greatly simplified things, fear not. InsomniousNightLife wanders nearly as much as any Opeth album, except with more interesting parts and less reliance on tried'n'true formulas.
Thanatoschizo somewhat dwells within the "beauty and the beast" type of gothic doomy metal, as they toss out the required clean male and female vocals with the prerequisite growling. There are also dramatic spoken passages that really could exit the building without being missed. Musically, the band offers a fairly slow paced doom hybrid (there are sometimes hints of Anathema's The Silent Enigma in the heavier parts, but don't rush off expecting that album. Just hints, all right, pal?) that throws in clean passages, lots of keyboards and arrangements that meander throughout the various subsets of the band's musical approach without a compass. Certainly fans of Opeth will have the patience to sit through this sort of thing.
On the whole, InsomniousNightLift is a reasonably decent release that is better than bad, but still not good enough to warrant massive hooting and hollering over its virtues. Thanatoschizo is showing some growth from their previous release and growth is good. Another couple inches and they'll be ready for some big kids' pants. Till then, this CD is meant for the more dedicated lovers of wandering metal.
John Chedsey
