Music review

"Communic's" communication

Brainwashed by worldwide popular discotheque music? Looking for something extra, ear-catching, original? If so, prepare yourself for the album of Payment Of Existence by Communic as it is possible you have never heard anything similar before. Welcome to "a realm of wealth and comfort" because "time has come to cleanse the soul"


By BOHUMIL PETRIK
from Bratislava, SLOVAKIA


Since the band's beginning in 2003, the band has recorded three albums. From the first one, Conspiracy In Mind (2005), then Waves Of Visual Decay (2006) and finally to Payment Of Existence (2008) there has been a considerable progress. Just like the number of songs has increased from six to seven and then to eight, it was the same with the quality.

"Unpredictables of life"

The life is unpredictable and so is Communic's playing. It is not very easy to fall in love with it for the first time or to know what to expect, therefore, it requires some time and, of course, almost full concentration to completely enjoy the way they play. So do not confuse it with Britney Spears or Rihanna that focus on predictable success of commercialization and the first notion in their music. When it comes to the Norwegian progressive metal band, it is different at the first hearing. Oddleif Stensland (guitarist, vocalist, songwriter), Erik Mortensen (bass guitarist), Tor Atle Andersen (drummer) together enriched the current album with a unique atmosphere where calm melodies and mild singing are mixed with thrilling screaming and thrashing.

The more-than-sixtytwo-minute-long album offers a really big place for a variety of aspects a good album should has. Although it may seem there are tiresome, slow-pacing parts it is not like that. However, sometimes there could be heavier melodies.

"Birth, life and then will come death!"

Every song contains, to some extent, thought-provoking verses, black visions and they altogether try to give an answer (or answers) to the existential question(s) of being. What is our Payment Of Existence, what price are we supposed to pay as existing beings, where is the world heading for? After all, the solution is up to the listener, but there are some indications, for example "I had a dream about the existence...", "Will I ever be reborn?" or "Time will come where it all will fail" and others.

Needless to say, dark and negative seeing of the world is very trendy among metal bands, but often it is banal. Sometimes I felt the same while listening to this poetry.

"The Abandoned One"

In these harsh times of a global commercialization Communic's music communication of long songs (mostly more than seven minutes), switching from slow to fast melodies, required attention and complicated structure may be seen as a small part of a group that is abandoned among many other popular and big business-like groups in the field of music.

Moreover it is not only in music, but in a lot of other all-society spheres, the arts as well. As Werner Herzog, a German film-director, said, we should declare holy war against commercialization. And Communic did so for the third time. Successfully.


(Published: 10.04.2009.)