Outworld - Hidden Evolution Path

They may have started in 2002 and released three albums prior to this, but Italian cyber-metal/Trance/EBM trio Outworld may as well have been born yesterday, as far as my prior knowledge goes. Artwork looking like a cross between 80s video game "Pipemania" and an electronic sperm forms an intelligent, but slightly misguided concept, and this album is evidently borrowing heavily from the cyberpunk ethic before it even leaves an aural calling card.

The album opens with "While The World Is Asleep", while having a well constructed intro, it loops itself for far too long. When the vocals finally kick in, it took me a minute to realise. They're extremely quiet, and sound like someone vomiting very far away, underwater. The music isn't bad, although it's far too heavy on the bass and terribly produced. The vocals however are as significant as your grandmother whispering to you from the other side of Europe. I can't hear them at all except for at tiny intervals. Dreadful.

"Neverending Odissey" (sic) features "Baron Baron Frankenheimer" (so bad they named him twice) on bass, and once again, it's a complete mess. I've tried several times, and I quite simply can't make it past track two.

Truly one of the poorest bands I've ever written about, and despite the interesting titles, the sound here isn't digestable after a thousand Rennie's. A complete mess. If there's potential, it's buried behind the single layer of noise.

What a shambles. Avoid. Jun 12 2012