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CHANGELING “Changeling”
CHANGELING “Changeling”
by Thor
German super guitarist and guy who nicknamed himself after an Ayn Rand book, Tom Fountainhead (ex-OBSCURA, AMOGH SYMPHONY, BELPHEGOR, DEFEATED SANITY) has released the self-titled debut album from CHANGELING, his progressive death metal super group of sorts.
CHANGELING features Mike Heller (FEAR FACTORY, MALIGNANCY, RAVEN) on drums, Arran McSporran (VIPASSI, VIRVUM) on fretless bass, Morean (ALKALOID, DARK FORTRESS) on vocals, and a cavalcade of 30 guest musicians playing instruments like the glockenspiel and the Wagnerian tube. Meanwhile, Mr. Fountainhead’s weapon of choice is the fretless guitar.
My eyes were autonomously rolling in their sockets upon reading the press release that accompanied this promo, and, unfortunately, my ears followed suit. This is not my thing, whatsoever. The musicianship on display here is nothing short of magnificent, but it lacks so much else.
The songs are long, dull, and just plain overwrought. There are so many disparate elements fighting for attention that any contrast created by juxtaposing them is lost. And even though the overall vocal approach is guttural, there are constant melodic and spoken-word interludes that sap whatever heaviness the instruments sporadically conjure up. Musical momentum never gets a chance to build.
As the album plays, it leans more and more into its least palatable elements, namely bad clean singing and an apparent refusal to play any part more than twice. By the end, I was bored and thoroughly ready to listen to something else.
Listen, I’m a bit of a musical caveman in my old age. One man’s pretentious mess is another man’s elite technical masterpiece. CHANGELING’s self-titled debut will certainly find its enthusiastic audience. But, alas, I will not be among them.
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