I remember perusing random CD’s in the “Rock” section of my
used record shop, which was where the majority of metal albums were lumped
into. As I searched the spines of the hundreds of jewel cases, I was always
mindful to keep a watchful eye for any record labels that stood out.
Roadrunner, Century Media and Nuclear Blast were always easy to spot, but so to
was Pavement Music. Upon one of my many blind searches through the CD bins, I
happened to spot the yellow Pavement Records symbol and pulled it out to discover
a band I’d never heard of; Perpetua. The album would be, “Irrational”. Now,
going solely on the record label alone, I was sure this would be some sort of
metal, more than likely death metal and when I got home, I discovered I was
right. I purchased “Irrational” back in 2002 and I knew very little about the
album or the band. Fast forward to 2019 and I know just as much now as I did
then. The little that I have read is that they play a blend of Industrial and
Death metal, so naturally I was intrigued.
Perpetua do indeed play death metal in vain of Fear
Factory’s “Soul of a New Machine” (more on that later) with a few hints of
Sepultura added in (through the use of tribal sounds the band employ
occasionally). Now, I must say, there are industrial elements to be heard on
this album, but their inclusion seems to be more of an afterthought as opposed
to one of the sounds being blended to create the music.
As for the music itself, this could almost pass as “Soul of
a New Machine’s” step brother. What I mean is that, the guitars heard on
“Irrational” are very similar to the down-tuned, distorted sound that Fear
Factory employed on their debut, chugging along with groovy sound riffs., The
bass, on the other hand has a nice pop, which stands out and helps create a
dark atmosphere along the heavy plodding guitars. (The opening of “One Time”
displays the potential the bass had on this album) The drumming lacks the punch
needed to bring forth the old school death metal sound the band attempts to
play and fails to make much of an impact. As a whole, the music moves along
from song to song with the same mid paced tempo, relying heavily on the
crunching guitar sound and simplistic drumming, which helps showcase, Jorge
Vázquez’s vocals.
Speaking of vocals, I must say, all I hear is a mix between
Burton C. Bell and Mark Greenway from Napalm Death’s “Fear, Emptiness, Despair.
Now, Jorge Vázquez, may not get any points for an original sound, but I happen
to like the two vocalist he sounds like, so I don’t think that’s necessarily a
bad thing. Unfortunately, his vocals tend to become the focal point to often
for the wrong reasons, as the music grows tiresome over time.
The lack of variation throughout the album is more than
obvious by the half way point. I feel, had the band spent a little more time in
the song writing department, added some more intriguing riffs and rhythms,
beefed up their drumming and actually employed more of the industrial sound
they were advertised to play, this album could have, at worst, been a cheap “Soul
of a New Machine” clone. Instead, this became a one and done, bland death metal
that explains it’s discovery within the discount bin at the record shop. Fans
of the obscure may find some enjoyment out of “Irrational”, but other than
die-hards, I can’t rationally recommend this album.
Highlights: “One Time” “Denied”
Rating: 2.5
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