Review: The Faceless – Autotheism

| Aug 07, 2012 | Comments 34 | Tags:

Rated:

4/5

Ya gotta admire a band that believes in itself. With its third album, the Faceless unveil a new lineup and a bigger, more ambitious sound, one that pushes their technical approach into the realm of full-blown prog. Given the album’s overall concept—“autotheism” means self-deification, and the album opens with the appropriately-titled “Creation”—the occasional dips into semi-symphonic grandeur definitely fit the mood, as do the Greg Lake-ish vocals on “Solitude.” Still, what drives the music is the tightly synched interplay between drums and guitars, and that, particularly as sharpened by Wes Hauch’s surgically precise lead work, definitely deserves a Hallelujah! J.D. CONSIDINE

Check out an Autotheism album preview below:


  • Mememe

    How… HOW DID YOU GET THIS?!?!?!?!?!?? :O!!!

    • http://www.heavyblogisheavy.com Alkahest

      Because they’re Revolver?

  • http://profile.yahoo.com/RDJEO35LJFF24RATJ537G63G2M Toby

    “Autothiesm means self-deification”
    Watch it with the big words there, stupid people will think you mean the album is about crapping your pants! :P

    • Kenny Scanlon

      not going to lie… I thought it said that for a split second

  • Jman

    LOL toby. Sounds sick so far but I wonder how many people will freak out about the first track alone. YES, it is NOT blast beats and growling the entire time!

    • Alejandro_the_Great

      It’s also not technical. At all. No, it’s not good songwriting no matter how many people say it is. It’s boring. It’s flat. It’s even annoying at times.

  • Dickface

    @f3a79fd1c664b9e8bbae6ea3b61cc533:disqus  Search “Autotheism Leak” and you should find a few results.

    • LilBWolfPack

      i found it a few days ago on Rockbox

  • Jess

    an amazing album to say the least. all the songs seemed to flow together

  • W0nt0ns00p

    I LOVE the faceless, but this album is really, really gay.

    • LilBWolfPack

      you obviously have no taste

    • pootato

      Your name is wontonsoop, implying you listen to lil b. Fag.

  • http://www.facebook.com/StayBrutal1795 Zach Taylor

    Fantastic album, one of the best this year so far, personally. I loved it.

  • http://www.facebook.com/nickdrakewhat Nick Drake

    I’ve had this on repeat for a few days now, incredible album

  • PrisonBorn

    Reads more like a Press Release than a review… it’s a 3/5 at best and that even forgives the amount of blatant rip-off “inspirations” from Opeth, BTBAM, Extol, Devin Townsend, (they even ripped off one of his album titles for a track name AS WELL AS his vocals!), and the terribly forced “prog” saxophone/jazz sections.

    I can only assume the people who like this album are people who never liked their previous works. Not saying that a band can’t evolve, but slotting in a watered down Mr. Bungle ‘Golem II’ circus riff in between technical blast beats isn’t “progressive” in the slightest.

    • Alejandro_the_Great

      THANK YOU! SOMEONE GETS IT.

    • http://www.facebook.com/Roybot06 Dyvontrae Devon Johnson

      I’m very much torn on that. This month as been “things that sound like something else” and this summer has been a “let’s turn up the vocals to 11″ for Sumerian. I feel the album has some polished moments, the production is one of the best productions to date for anyone in their genre, and some of the speed picking parts don’t overstay their welcome.

      At the same exact time, we hear the formula of Opeth and Devin Townsend right off the bat. The tracks are structured like a BTBAM album, followed by a not so deep or unsurreal keyboard offering. Like the same stuff from Akeldama or Planetary. Literally the same keyboard progressions. They’re impeding on hollowed ground and we can easily see the seams of what they’re borrowing. Nothing about this album is seamless, fluid, or progressive.

    • http://www.facebook.com/mylezimus.prime Mylezimus Prime

      evidence of these claims of riff rips or GTF OFF THE INTERNET.

      • PrisonBorn

        I obviously can’t post YT links here, but have a listen to Opeth – Bleak, then The Faceless – Emancipate. Both songs play the exact same everything at around the 3 minute marks respectively. You can even sing Opeth lyrics over the top of The Faceless during that section and it fits perfectly.

        This is only one example, I could probably do an entire write up on all the similarities from other bands, but it’s no use pointing fingers. I’m just gonna pretend Fallujah – The Harvest Wombs is the new Faceless release and try to forget about this mess…

    • Dimehead

      I hate to say it, but I agree and admit im not ‘blown away’ by this album at all… pretty underwhelmed actually. Akeldama was more progressive by a long shot, and it had a unique Faceless flavour to it. I still love TF, but I honestly wouldn’t give it more than 6/7 on 10.

  • sagar

    i lv ths album

  • Adam

    Why do the guitars sound so awful? They have no fullness at all. Very disappointed in the production. Very much so.

  • VitaminAK

    I was a fan of PD hands down, but this is so much better. I really dont get the bitching about guitar tone? this tone is freaking perfect. please provide an example of a better tone, and also please provide an example of these so-called ripoffs, these riffs are definitely the faceless.

    • Alejandro_the_Great

      I don’t know about any ripoffs, but how can you like PD and then think this is better? PD has real texture and life. This thing has forced fake attempts at texture and substance by using cheap sound effects and synthesizers. And boring as hell guitar licks.

      • VitaminAK

        Texture and life? Boring Guitar licks? BORING GUITAR LICKS? Are you serious here? Almost every song has 1 of the sickest guitar licks ever – written in it. Accelerated Evolution’s intro lick alone, nuff said. I mean what exactly is a sick lick to you? I’d like to hear it, especially if you cant categorize these licks as sick, you obviously know some really really killer guitarists/musicians that i HAVE to check out. And i personally love the atmosphere and “texture” here, the mood is set and well defined, the nuances are apparent, the placement of dissonance is so tasteful and perfectly balanced. My only gripe is that awful harmony in “The Eidolon Reality” during the chorus, and thats seriously it.

  • TheFiftyOne

    This album is garbage. I understand they want to go more progressive but come on…this band isn’t known for clean vocals. Know your audience.

    • Alejandro_the_Great

      Totally agree. It’s complete crap. It’s damned near unlistenable. I also can’t understand all the good reviews. Have they actually listened to it? You mean to tell me people listened to PD, loved it, and then listened to this and thought it was an improvement? WHAT?

      • hendog

        i agree also. total crap for fans of brutality.

  • http://www.facebook.com/mylezimus.prime Mylezimus Prime

    People who are hating on this album are hater. just looking for things to hate on. this album is amazing and beautifully made.

    • fridaynightfistfights

      I wanted to like this album but just because I loved past albums don’t mean I will blindly like the new one.

  • OsirisGage

    Cannot stop listening to this album. 5 days now almost non stop. i CANNOT get enough. amazing tone and absolutely gripping dynamics. Cannot complain.

  • http://www.facebook.com/clifford.d.honeycutt Clifford Dean Honeycutt

    This album is EPIC IMO. The clean vocals are so great!

  • Faced

    I don’t hear “surgically precise lead work”. Maybe my ear is used to higher standards. PD was tighter, punchier, and way more brutal. I like clean vocals but only if you can sing. Pitch correcting is for bad pop music not death metal. I love prog, clean vocals, and the Faceless but this album is just not that good. Listen to Autotheism and then PD back to back and tell me PD doesn’t slay. Maybe I’m the only one that noticed but this album is make up of about three different albums. Each section has an intro and first track. It is clear that after starting the alum over several time it was decided to take the material and jam it together. I have heard people say this is just the natural progression of the band. It is not natural for every member of a band to leave at the hight of popularity and for the guitarist to take over 50% of the vocals. As for style how is ripping of Opeth a “more ambitious sound”. The Faceless was one of my favorite bands but this is not the same band. Even if they didn’t write the majority of the music the other members of the Faceless obviously played an important part of the band even if all they did was to keep Keene in check. I mourn their loss. Sorry if my opinion is disagreeable but like the Faceless said “there is no truth only a perspective”.

  • http://www.facebook.com/conjuration.cochran Corey Jason Cochran

    We don’t need any more Devin Townsend.