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Lakes of Sacrifice Dead Man's Hill presents us with his latest album Lakes of Sacrifice which is a harrowing journey of militaristic orchestral industrial that although stuck in a genre that's defined by having a pretty strict set of rules still manages to fit a little bit of originality into their arrangements. Arrangements are what I will call the music here because it sounds like many synth presets are used to create these tracks and that is probably what is holding this back the most. If I could experience these compositions played back with an excellent orchestral sample library and some production techniques that aren't too rare these days (see The Protagonist, or Puissance for some great electronic orchestral music production) I think I would probably have a completely different opinion of this music. Of course I guess I have to talk about what is actually presented here and not what I wish this was. The opening track “Sacrifice of Subscription (With it Clings)” kicks in with a harshly spoken monologue dealing with what sounds like everyday bitching. The dialog doesn't strike me as being pretentious but the way it is spoken does sound pretty rediculous. Dead Man's Hill kind of sounds like he's trying very hard to be angry but instead sounding quite silly. As with the music, I feel like the material could be presented in a different way and be totally acceptable, but I'm guessing my opinions on this type of music will be pretty far-out in left field as I don't listen to a ton of it. “Sacrifice Before Harvest Moon” is a track that stands out on this album because it is composed well and includes some more electronic elements which make it unique. The choir sounds are produced pretty well and there are a lot of them in this track so it works. The drums might be the worst sounding part of the production and it's too bad because this could be improved a ton just by adding a good bit more reverb, and even more so if some better samples were used. A lot of this has a very cinematic quality to it especially Yigael which features a galloping rhythm and soaring choir to form a track that reminds just a little of Star Wars. “Sacrifice” follows in line with Sacrifice Before Harvest Moon and features a more electronic texture with the thundering toms. I'm really on the edge of almost liking this but the more cheesy elements prevent me from doing so and that sucks. Overall Rating: C |
