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By JEFF MAKI
I remember Once Only Imagined, the debut album by The Agonist, led by sexy, straight-edge vocalist, Alissa White-Gluz,, as being closer in the musical realm to Killswitch Engage than Cradle of Filth, but all has changed on the sophomore effort from these Canadians, Lullabies For the Dormant Mind
Lullabies For the Dormant Mind sounds like soundtrack to a heavy metal Tim Burton movie. It's a little out there. White-Gluz bends and distorts her naturally melodic voice into many different demonic sounds and styles, from death metal growls, grunts, clean vocals and a Dani Filth-like black metal screech. All of these styles fly out at you in any one given song. And the music has taken on a more complicated, orchestrated sound, not far from the aforementioned Cradle of Filth. The Agonist has added classical and jazz elements, pianos, violins, synths and various other sounds. Melded with their rapid-fire, hyper-speed drum attack, walls of tempo-shifting guitar riffs and occasional melodic choruses and breakdowns, this is about as close as a band could get to being called black metal without actually being labeled black metal.
Standouts among these twisted fairy tales are “The Tempest (The Siren's Song, The Banshee's Cry),” a haunting a cappella version of Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake,” “Chlorpromazine,” “The Sentient” and “When the Bough Breaks.”
Lullabies For the Dormant Mind is a daring effort from The Agonist. Yet, the band sounds completely confident playing this type of multifaceted style. The album is ultra-heavy and demands full attention from the listener because there's no telling what awaits in the next story. It's challenging and at times maybe uncomfortable, but The Agonist does something not many bands can pull off anymore—evoke thoughts, feelings and emotion from the listener. This is an original effort I recommend to any fan of extreme music.
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