(AFM)
Total Time: 41:45
X-WORLD/5 is a new superband with the following lineup:
Magnus Rosen (HAMMERFALL) - Bass
Nils K.Rue (PAGAN'S MIND) - Vocals
Big Swede - Drums
Reeves Gabrels (TIN MACHINE, DAVID BOWIE) - Guitars
Andy La Rocque (KING DIAMOND) - Guitars
The idea was of Magnus Rosen and his friend Big Swede to create a group with a space aesthetics that would play futuristic metal as it would be heard in the year 3000. One visit in their website will convince you of their intentions with all the astronauts and the spacecrafts.
So, as a fan of Star Wars and Star Trek I waited from this weird combination of musicians to beam me up to distant galaxies with something I had never heard before. Unfortunately, “New Universal Order” didn’t prove to be the best vessel to deliver such a task. The whole album moves in a monotone, mid tempo and heavy rhythmic playing of all the instruments with vocals in high frequencies. X-WORLD/5 experiments mostly with the effects of their sound, with distortions, vocal filters and all kinds of noises that for sure make you think that you are a part of some kind of intergalactic enterprise. In terms of style they have completely succeeded. In terms of music, I found the compositions kind of uninteresting and sometimes not able to form complete and structured songs. Apart from a couple of catchy choruses, the songs seem to have nothing to offer. I don’t know about Mr Gabrels’s talent, but Andy La Roque is one of my favourite guitar players and this outcome is way behind his capacities. He did a great job in production though, giving strength and depth to the instruments and of course all these crazy electronic sounds that spin around your head while listening to the album. Maybe the “New Universal Order” is way ahead of its time and my humble existence can’t conceive its concept – maybe in the year 3000 I will have to reconsider.
This album doesn’t follow a certain metal genre as it tries to give out a certain space feeling. Sound engineers and producers will find something to keep them occupied, but a fan of music that would like to listen to songs that can make him move his head will probably miss the spacecraft.
