System Divide
The Conscious Sedation
01. Vagaries of Perception
02. An Intoxicating Affair
03. Echoes
04. The Apex Doctrine
05. Lethargy
06. (n)Ether
07. Hollow
08. Purity in Imperfection
09. Repent/Forget
10. The Conscious Sedation
11. Stagnant Progression
[09/14/10 | Metal Blade]
I was skeptical when I first heard of System Divide. The idea of a female and male vocalist always sounded great, but I had yet to hear a band execute it well. Eyes Set To Kill came close, but their work seems to be hit or miss with me for reasons other than the vocals. Doubtful, I played The Apex Doctrine. Three and a half minutes later I thought “Damn, this is what Lacuna Coil would sound like if they were good.” I immediately bought their EP, The Collapse, and I loved it. I’d spend two hours playing Counter-Strike (Source for those who care) with the same 4 songs on repeat the entire time. With much hype, I was eager to compare and contrast System Divide’s newest release The Conscious Sedation.
System Divide evolved from their EP into what I would describe as a melodic metalcore band. I’ve seen other genres thrown around such as extreme metal, modern metal, etc. Personally, I stand by my description and you can “flame on” a la Human Torch style if you disagree. Different from their EP, the song structure of The Conscious Sedation is more chorus-verse oriented with Miri Milman singing clean choruses and Sven De Caluwe growling through verses. Like most metalcore bands, you can expect plenty of shreds and breakdowns on this album. On this point, the breakdowns do not grow old, sound generic, or drag as in some albums (I’m looking at you Suicide Silence’s No Time To Bleed).
Canadian metalcore band The Agonist have posted a new video for “Birds Elope With The Sun” off their new album, Lullabies For The Dormant Mind, out now on Century Media Records.
