AlbumsNovember 29, 201119,015 views

The Faceless Planetary Duality


Planetary Duality
1. Prison Born 2. The Ancient Covenant 3. Shape Shifters 4. Coldly Calculated Design 5. Xeno Christ 6. Sons of Belial 7. Legion of the Serpent 8. Planetary Duality I : Hideous Revelation 9. Planetary Duality II : A Prophecies Fruition
2008 Sumerian Records
Our score 8

by Cory
11/25/2008

Tech death metal act The Faceless have spent the last few years since their debut release tirelessly touring with some of the best death metal acts on the planet. As a result, they've since developed into one of the most technically adept and virtually flawless acts of the variety that I've ever heard. To be honest, their latest release Planetary Duality hits most of its bases so precisely that it nearly becomes suspect. While it might be easy to nail them on their impetuous co-opting of Cynic's trademark vocoder routine in "The Ancient Covenant" or the unfortunately comical vocal shortcomings on "Sons of Belial," you would have to be pretty fucking jaded to write this album off altogether. These guys pull off what 99% of bands who have been at this a lot longer have failed miserably at simply by making the segues, experiments and left-field bits work in context. Planetary Duality may clock in at a relatively lean thirty-one minutes, but there are more than enough good ideas, face-melting riffs and technical flourishes to satisfy even the most gluttonous tech-head. If the talk of tech already has you tuning out, I would strongly urge you to reconsider. The Faceless have a knack for fitting all their musicianship neatly into songs that are both well-structured and concise. It's relatively apparent that founding member and lead guitarist Michael Keene is a quick study, building on metal both current and past for his own band's future. It's not a disc that pushes boundaries genre-wise, but the band has certainly set themselves apart from a talent standpoint. Virtuoso guitar work is accented at every turn by a rhythm section that pulls out every trick and tempo in the book over the course of the album. All too often, bands seem to rely too much on their speed or timing to mask their songwriting deficiencies. The Faceless make the majority of their technical passages seem as effortless as the less intricate ones. My only real disappointment with Planetary Duality is in the disc's production and mixing. There is an absolute sterility to the disc's sound that is unfortunately par for the course with most releases of this sort. The guitars are recorded with just the right amount of reverb and the bass never ventures out of its too-tight groove. The drums are never off but they are also rarely natural. I'm interested to see if they are able to pull all of this off as precisely live but I'd almost rather hear a looser incarnation of these tracks, as the material itself isn't done justice by the trophy case treatment. Additionally, there are a handful of points throughout the disc where the drums and guitar seemed at odds in the mix, especially when I listened to it at high volumes on my stereo, as if the two were fighting for your attention and sadly the drums almost always won. Finally, the combination of their artwork and lyrical content reminded me of a cross between Cynic and Nocturnus and it's always fun to hear a metal band sing about death and dismemberment in the context of space and sci-fi every once in a while. There's nothing wrong with being straightforward but I give The Faceless credit for the extra bit of creativity. Bottom Line: The angry old man in me didn't even want to put this record into my CD player but the actual music fan hiding in there just couldn't be repressed upon repeat listens. Planetary Duality is an impressive new take on a genre that has been done so many times before in a much less inspired fashion. The Faceless may not have an extensive pedigree or a back catalog proving their hard-earned cred, but they have something that metalheads often lose sight of: talent. They're a band capable of creating something truly classic and while this might not hit that mark, I will be eagerly awaiting their next release.

69 comments

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virus_dot_EXE_ 11/25/2008 10:08:02 PM

first post

elijunk_ 11/25/2008 10:08:27 PM

crappy dudes

xfathersgunx_ 11/25/2008 10:30:19 PM

These guys are real mean to me when I see them live.

anonymous 11/25/2008 10:36:51 PM

i heard these guys are jerks

anonymous 11/25/2008 10:49:53 PM

the band as a whole are ok dudes, but keene sucks the hard one.

Antikrist_ 11/25/2008 10:58:27 PM

Ive met The Faceless a couple times, theyre really nice guys. I would of gave this maybe a 7 though due to length and some of the production issues. Other than that I really enjoy this album.

kons_ 11/25/2008 11:14:35 PM

good album. fair score

Stupidwhores_ 11/25/2008 11:21:43 PM

Surprisingly decent album

foresters_ 11/25/2008 11:59:13 PM

reason for good review: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VX72DqqW51s

xenosapien_ 11/26/2008 12:24:55 AM

Easily one of the best of 2008. 10/10

Nigbaton_ 11/26/2008 12:39:30 AM

9.5/10 great f*cking album

okarma_ 11/26/2008 1:09:24 AM

5/10 at best. boring and sterile.

SACHA DUMBABLE_ 11/26/2008 2:54:16 AM

THIS gay REVIEWS HERE AND NO ONE SAYS A DAMN THING http://a89.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/87/l_e3505e8ba90a982a5e6921aadb19b8d0.jpg

anonymous 11/26/2008 3:13:24 AM

Cory sucks the collective dck of all the band members combined.

derek_ 11/26/2008 4:59:51 AM

i am gay

anonymous 11/26/2008 7:12:47 AM

good album, awesome artwork

shat_ 11/26/2008 7:39:06 AM

Sterile, shit, piece of wank.

anonymous 11/26/2008 8:17:30 AM

one pretentious dck reviewing a bunch of other pretentious dcks. figures he gave it an 8. i wasn't impressed at all.

shredlogic_ 11/26/2008 11:05:39 AM

This CD is OK, but the problem is that it has a few good parts in between a lot of stuff that isn't memorable. I think people just get impressed when they hear something they know they can't play, or that sounds somewhat exotic. I would have given it a 6 or 7.

guitarplayermetalhead_ 11/26/2008 11:38:45 AM

i feel like the album is more of a 6 or 7. I really enjoy the album and some of the riffs are just killer but the drum production - well really just overall production- is over the top and flat and boring to me. Some of their parts seem haphazardly thrown together too, as opposed to having a sort of cohesiveness. Good album but not quite an 8.

therealtruth_ 11/26/2008 11:41:37 AM

boring ass band f*ck em

HenrocK_ 11/26/2008 11:47:23 AM

album f*cking rules, 9.5/10, .5 off only cause of length. this album is in my Top 5 of '08

some dumb faggot_ 11/26/2008 11:49:44 AM

This website is f*cking clownshoes, nobody takes your opinions on real metal seriously, in fact before your nonsensical interview with Alex Webster I wasn't even aware this pisspoor excuse for a website even existed.

Stew_ 11/26/2008 2:21:05 PM

What a shitty review. Seriously, who the f*ck nominates idiots like Cory for stuff like this? BORING. sck a dck Cory.

evilf22_ 11/26/2008 4:31:44 PM

ok album, but its just a watered down version of the new SS, deeds of flesh, and decrepit birth albums. im sure the next effort from these guys will be something worthwhile though. keep touring with decrepit birth, maybe something will rub off on them.

anonymous 11/26/2008 4:55:35 PM

The fact you even put The Faceless in the same catagory as SS is f*cking stupid. Kill yourself you stupid gay.

RighteousAnger_ 11/27/2008 1:46:54 AM

Few bands pull off clean vocals in heavy music well; The Faceless isn't one of them. I cringe at the singing and "robot Cynic vocals" in this album. This is just pure opinion, though. Other than that the album is mostly solid. Tech and brutal while still having groove and nice off-time parts.

petenasty_ 11/27/2008 4:56:31 AM

strangly enough my favorite parts of this album are when they actually let a riff breathe a bit, or when they put the brakes on the tech for a few bars and get into a groove. prime example, the riff towards the start of planetary duality II before the verse. these tech bands can shred all they want but they need to learn how to toss in grooves to break it up and really catch you. dece record but it already left my rotation. the high points on akeldama were better than the highs here but this alb

Chaosweaver_ 11/27/2008 6:11:06 AM

Good album, not an 8 though.

narbs_ 11/27/2008 6:28:42 PM

with the exception of derek these guys are total dcks in person

durp_ 11/27/2008 11:49:04 PM

the clean vocals on this are f*cking terrible, but other than that its not bad. id probably give it a 7/10.

tower_ 11/28/2008 2:00:46 AM

album is boring.

Dave2112_ 11/28/2008 11:09:27 AM

I loved the album and liked the review.

anonymous 11/28/2008 1:19:48 PM

lame

anonymous 11/28/2008 1:19:55 PM

lame

anonymous 11/28/2008 1:20:04 PM

lame

anonymous 11/28/2008 1:20:10 PM

lame

anonymous 11/28/2008 1:20:13 PM

lame

anonymous 11/28/2008 1:20:17 PM

lame

anonymous 11/28/2008 1:20:20 PM

lame

anonymous 11/28/2008 1:20:24 PM

lame

anonymous 11/28/2008 1:20:27 PM

lame

anonymous 11/28/2008 1:20:31 PM

lame

anonymous 11/28/2008 1:20:36 PM

lame

anonymous 11/28/2008 1:20:39 PM

lame

anonymous 11/28/2008 1:20:42 PM

lame

anonymous 11/28/2008 1:20:45 PM

lame

anonymous 11/28/2008 1:20:53 PM

lame

anonymous 11/28/2008 3:34:56 PM

Spam a dck into your mouth queerbait

RaidLindisfarne_ 11/30/2008 11:56:46 PM

Excellent album, okay review. Easily a 10 for me. Due to the length, I've probably listened to this album around 100 times already.

SEAMAN_ 12/1/2008 12:23:49 PM

Akeldama was better.

michaelkeene_ 12/1/2008 8:32:48 PM

michael keene makes everything sound exactly the same. this cd plus Born of Osiris and Veil of Maya have the same tone and way too loud drums. plus this shit sounds like one really loud fart in my system

nightmare_ 12/2/2008 7:54:29 PM

awesome cover art

zombiesaretight_ 12/3/2008 1:55:31 PM

these guys are just a local band from my home town and i will always see them as just a local band. they are jerks and there nothing special. give it a rest. ive been hearing this shit for too many years now

anonymous 12/5/2008 4:06:19 PM

way more competent than akeldama but somehow less fun

fuck_you_ 12/5/2008 5:54:59 PM

i don't give a f*ck if they're jerks or not, this album is worthy of at least an 8. if you don't like this then i sincerely wonder if you even like metal. great all around package and one of the best this year by far.

gayboy_ 12/6/2008 9:52:22 PM

DAY WER SO MEEN 2 ME SO THEY MEWSICK BIG SUCK!

CumBubble_ 12/8/2008 1:27:19 PM

worst clean vocals in recorded history. Problay ruins the album along with terrible production. How did KEENE become the main producer for sumerian if he sucks balls at it. besides that Planetary II is a great f*ckin song

al_czervik_ 12/11/2008 6:21:31 PM

i used to think these guys were just a stupid wank-fest gimmick but i've completely changed my stance after hearing this. this is a solid album, f*ck the complainers. cool concept as well.

anonymous 12/13/2008 4:06:42 PM

the album is about the reptilian race that controls the Illuminati. its a good concept i wonder if they believe it

j sav_ 12/14/2008 8:07:33 AM

they're good dudes. music rocks.

RickChug_ 1/3/2009 7:32:52 PM

the drummer is the only cool one in the band

Raaaach_ 1/5/2009 11:14:10 PM

Awesome album, dckhead Dudes.

Bjarne_ 1/8/2009 4:39:51 PM

I'd give it a 7.5 Great songs but some are too short. The album itself is too short and the intros lack creativity.

thedeadwalk_ 1/14/2009 9:55:27 AM

this shit just sounds annoying as f*ck to my ears

cantfakethepunk_ 1/19/2009 1:24:27 PM

i love to suck c-ck

imcharming_ 5/1/2009 9:38:25 AM

derek your voice is da dopest thing

anonymous 1/18/2012 5:46:54 AM

Brilliant shit. Haters can hate, but technically they are the bests.

anonymous 6/11/2012 6:28:47 PM

Seen this band 2 times in Houston, TX and I'm to see them again next month at Summer Slaughter 2012. Great band and dudes are really cool both times I kicked it with them after the show.