Abducted By Sharks - Siege Engine

I love the cyberpunk genre and everything that it holds. It's futuristic cities portraying bright neon lights and towering buildings that cover up the slums of the poor, while the technology of the day shows a positive face over the corruption of politics and gang violence leaves wonders to explore in all sorts of fiction established within the genre. And that, my friends, is exactly why Abducted By Sharks has me in a good mood at this point in the day.

Based in Washington in the USA, the two members of the band grew up reveling in mosh pits and constant breakdowns. They also were absolute lovers of everything and anything science fiction and related to video games, and with that said it's quite easy to understand what the band is all about.

Up till this time period, the duo has released a five track cover EP, a five track EP, four albums (including this one), as well as two releases in which the tracks released were both featured in video games. Their latest album that does not correlate to the video game industry would be Siege Engine. The cover art of it definitely displays a battleground, so with my laser rifle loaded and my power suit charged, I crash landed into this middle of this intense war and saw to it that I explored and conquered each sci-fi laden track it had to offer.

Track number one, also titled as Precog, gave us a taste of what Abducted By Sharks can do. With great homage to 80s sounds, as well as making way for guitars in there, this already started off like a soundtrack to a bullet hell shooter as you're confronted by countless enemies on all sides in your one tiny ship. Dead Channel played off something more sinister than that, with church bells ringing, rain going off, as well as boots stepping in the rain. It sounded as if someone wanted to sneak somewhere undetected, and succeeded.

Distortion Vector kicked in more with metal influences than any with a synth fading in and out. I have to say, though, that without the synth support all throughout the song, I felt as if it were missing something at some points. I then came across the title track of the album, and it didn't disappoint. Perhaps being a little similarly minded to previous tracks on the song, it still managed to hold its own.

I appreciated Terminal Node, as the electronics varied, but couldn't help but feel as if the guitar work was redundant, as it sounded the same as on other songs within the album. The end of the song was interesting, as it came to a conclusion with something sounding like a commercial section of town as people chattered and interacted.The song flowed straight into the next, which was the net is empty. A dark ambient piece different from the rest, it had very little sound to it, with some creepy effects here and there. It came off as one of my favorite pieces on the album.

However, things didn't stay quiet for too long as we rolled into the next song, 520 AM. The synths started strong, but gave way once the main structure appeared. They came back every now and then to amazing effect, with the guitars and drums sounding more aggressive than before. This song turned me on.

Before the one remix on the album, we got Ono-Sendai. It was a decent song that used more rain as the intro, and then got into the thick of things, and slowly evaporated into nothing through the sound of rain once more. The remix, and final track of the album, was of Implanted Memory. It starts off pretty light with piano work and then gets to the nitty gritty with electronics. While ABS certainly showed off a more metal side to the future, the Adhesion Remix showed off a friendly atmosphere with dancey vibes.

And, that's where the album ended. If I have any complaints, it would not be found within the electronics. Those are really, really great. I think the synth work made half the songs be as good as they are. And, while the guitar work is good, I really can't help but feel as if the sound is repeated once too often. I would love to hear some diversity in that field in one way or the other.

But, without bitching too much, I really enjoyed the album. Not only for the music, but also for the look and feel of the artists. They definitely have a fantastic style about them, and aren't afraid to be fanboys of what they're in love with. And they are in love with sci fi, music, and probably sharks judging by their name. I can't wait to see what they have in store for us next; maybe vocals will be present on the next album. Or maybe they'll have a war with turtles. The future is hard to see with an oddball group like this, but I love them for their music nonetheless.

Apr 13 2014