AD1NF1N1TUM - 1NTO THE VO1D

Let’s get one thing out of the way right away: AD1NF1N1TUM told me that this album was produced entirely on his iPhone using GarageBand. So you would expect the production value to be absolutely terrible and horrible and all sorts of other nasty words in between. Well, you’re absolutely right. A lot of what’s on AD1NF1N1TUM’s debut album “1NTO THE VO1D” sounds like nothing more than a demo recording – and a bad one at that. But there is potential in AD1NF1N1TUM’s songwriting that, with an upgraded studio or more effort, could turn into something grand. 

I think ‘Broken Glass & Bloody Knuckles’ is an example of something good that comes off of AD1NF1N1TUM’s album. A very noise-rocky type of song with plenty of acoustics felt in between. Like something you’d hear in an indie movie; not quite an emotional powerhouse but something that I can see being used for cinematic purpose. AD1NF1N1TUM’s voice is not phenomenal, but it somewhat works in this single. It’s passable, not great, but passable. 

One of the worst songs on the album is ‘Hell’. I felt like I was being tortured listening to this track. While I don’t think AD1NF1N1TUM has a bad voice, this single showcases that not every song is going to be a certified hit. His voice is completely off-beat, the instrumentals are a bit too raw, and there’s a clicking noise in the background that was used profusely in the previous two or three songs that shows lack of creativity. It’s awful and I would never return to this. What comes next isn’t much better, titled ‘Horror Story’. Goes back to my original point of the album sounding like nothing more than a demo at best. 

There’s a section of Hymns on the album that starts with ‘Hymn I: Horn of Abraxas’ and ends with ‘Hymn IV: Holy War’. The first of which isn’t too bad; harkens back to my thoughts on ‘Broken Glass & Bloody Knuckles’. Noisy acoustics. Repetitive, but if it was expanded upon I think we could have had something decent here. The rest are trash.  

And then we get to the final two songs on the album: covers. I’ve said before that if you decide to cover a song, you better be able to do it just as well or better than the original version. While I have been brutal to cover songs in the past, I think that AD1NF1N1TUM doesn’t do a half bad job here; not quite as good as the originals, but close. First, they cover Black Sabbath’s self-titled single. An absolute classic where the acoustic instruments are replaced by gritty, gritty synth work. He maintains the original’s sense of mystery and sorcery; doesn’t over do it, doesn’t underdo it. And keeps similar emotion to the original. In fact, I think that some of the additional synth work is better than the originals acoustic instrumentation as it gives a secondary sense of something wicked this way coming. The second cover AD1NF1N1TUM does if of Slipknot’s ‘Vermillion Pt. 2’. This one isn’t bad, either, but is much worse than the original at the same time. I’m not a huge fan of Slipknot, but I think ‘Vermilion Pt. 2’ is one of their most heartfelt ballads where they shed their emotion without the need for harsh sounds. AD1NF1N1TUM’s vocals on this cover are a bit nasally for my tastes and the synths don’t work as well as the acoustics from the original. So, while I can see how the Black Sabbath cover has merit, the Slipknot cover does not.  

I’m not going to knock someone for making music on their iPhone or iPad or whatever; I’ve seen bands use pots and pans for music and it sounded good. And I’ve also seen some of my favorite musicians use a tablet as an accessory to make their music and it sound good. But what AD1NF1N1TUM presents isn’t good, it’s not passable in most scenarios, and it sounds horrid. There’s a passion here for sure, but the potential is still unlocked. Perhaps further studying mixing and mastering, how to create a decent sound out of a basic or simplified DAW would do AD1NF1N1TUM well. Because, as of right now, what they’re releasing isn’t.