Organasm

First listen to Organasm reminded me of post metal feel or rather the fact of not having any feel just strange flow to the sound. The guitars are down tuned and vocals border between screams and growls. The overall lack of feel which I initially felt in the music was compensated by the awesomely integrated aboriginal influences, which made me listen to them again. The fascinating part of their music is that you get the feel of the gracefully blended tribal drum beats, eastern musical instruments and psychedelic guitars only by subsequent repeated listens. The music is very progressive with passages but songs are hardly that long.

The record does not emphasize on vocals, even though they do add to the overall experience. The usage of instruments are definitely the highlight of Organasm. The ambiance is not the dark deathly kind but more on the happier progressive metal side, if you like Riverside or ISIS kind of sound then you might just fancy Alchemist too. "Austral Spectrum" is a great track to start the record, it kind of encompasses all the specialties of Organasm, the slow lazy guitar riffs, screaming vocals drowned in the guitar sound, tribal beats, psychedelic guitar interleaved with some flute like instrument, musical passages, basically the Organasm experience in a song is "Austral Spectrum".

The lyrics are related to evolution and surrealism, actually the abstract nature of the sounds blends very well with the theme of surrealism. The song names on itself gives away their inspirations, "Evolution Trilogy" is like one single song and smoothly transitions into each of its parts. I really enjoyed the Part 3 with the electronica sound around the half way mark leading to the trademark heavy guitar which abruptly switches to a mellow tone towards the end. On "Single Sided" Adam Agius does get ample opportunity to exhibit his skills on vocals, one cannot help noticing the earmark quality ear splitting scream towards the end which sadly is very less used in Organasm. "Tide In, Mind Out" has brilliant screams and bloody good backing vocals. For a change the instruments are not diverting the attention but it was only a transient state before the elegance of Alchemist's instrument musicianship comes back with "Eclectic" which more than lives up to its name.

The record has a very striking feature, there is no overuse of guitar riffs, nor the brilliant vocal screams, all the musical influences are used in the perfect harmony with the overall ambiance of the album. When you combine genres and musical influences its very easy to get carried away which actually crucifies the very meaning of music. The feel won't be consistent, one instance you will need to be in the bluesy folk or Jazz mood and the next instant back to death metal growls, this is exactly what I felt when listening to Orphaned Land's Mabool. In short Organasm is very well made record which keeps you interested in the music by quirky and smooth transitions between songs and a well balanced production quality. The record grows on you with multiple listens. It will be a good half a dozen listens before you start appreciating the idiosyncrasies of Alchemist terrain embedded with ample melody, good musicianship, capable unexploited vocals which leaves you craving for more.

It's a shameful time for Australia in the international music scene. Our main exports are Jet and Kylie Minogue, we have some of the most horrible boy bands ever, generally, we suck really bad (Don’t get me started on the emo scene over here). So it's really, really good to hear an Australian Band not just writing great music, but also writing music that has a very outback-y, pioneer like spirit.

This album keeps you permanently guessing. The first song, Austral Spectrum, opens up with some really well done keyboards and didgeridoos, dammit, it’s atmospheric. Then all of a sudden, crushing heavy guitars kick in, but it all fits so perfectly. Or there’s Tide in Mind Out, which starts off full of eerie synths, before some ethereal, uplifting guitars take over. It’s an amazing song, which asks the question “Why isn’t this band selling as much records as Tool?” The song continues to build up, setting a mood that Isis would be proud of, before getting really heavy. Amazing. The trilogy is great too, with some inspired tribal drumming beginning this 3 part epic, before guitars come in. Regardless of what happens though, you can be assured that there will be a great mood created. Few bands can create a mood as well as these guys. There’s a bit of a Middle-Eastern thing going on, mixed with the emptiness, the desolation and the beauty of the Australian outback.

The guitars are always of extremely high quality, whether playing FX treated clean bits of playing powerful, mid-paced metal riffs. The vocals may take a bit of getting used to, but you’ll soon love them. The singer is a very talented lyricist too, always a plus. The keyboards are maybe the best I’ve heard any metal band do. Sometimes they are very subtle, sometimes they are up there with the guitars, but there is no cheesiness at all, and they never, ever sound out of place. Everything in this album is placed perfectly in this mix. All of this great music has been suitably well produced, with everything mixed right, though I would prefer a more raw drum kit.

But who am I to complain? This is an album of Australia-sized proportions, a mind altering, intoxicating epic full of interesting soundscapes and strange, left field, yet totally accessible metal music. Basically, if you like Metal of any sort, you should run out and buy this album, right now.

I purchased Alchemist-Organism last year at a used CD shop. At the time I was just getting into the true metal scene, and was basically throwing anything that had the term "metal" on the label. One of those cd's happened to be Organism by Alchemist.

When I finally listened to this cd, I smiled during the first listen. Now I can put into words why this CD made me so happy. This cd is completely differant from alot of the metal I have listened to. The band uses the typical guitars, bass, drums, keyboards, and vocals just like anyother typical metal band. What makes this cd so great is the way that these instruments are used, mainly the way the keyboards are used.

Everysong on this cd brings forth an incredible atmosphere that is not exceedingly dark and gloomy. This might be one of the few cds I own that gives off positive vibe, without being exceedingly gay. In fact it does this without being gay at all.

The songs on this album are mid tempo. Not too slow, and not too fast. The guitars have a nice distorted sound that still allow the notes to ring clear. Same thing goes for the bass. You will not find any "let's distort the bass so bad it sounds like a guitar" The bass contributes to the cd giving it nice, rich, low end when necessary.

What really sets this cd apart though is the percussion. The drums not only keep the timing exceptionally well they also add a nice mideastern flair to the songs. The keyboards also give off a nice epic, foreign flair to everysong, plus they help give the songs their atmosphere.

I would give a detailed description about how great everysong is, but that would keep you from buying this cd. No matter what type of metal you are into you need to add this cd to your collection it is simply one of the best progressive metal cds of all time.

Alchemist's consistency to bring out absolutely amazing records never ceases to amaze me. While this is perhaps not quite as good as Spiritech, it is so close behind that it makes little or no difference.
The first thing you might notice (if you have listened to previous Alchemist CDs) is the production. It has come quite a long way since Spiritech - much clearer and with better sounding electronics.
Well, what's to expect? What's not to expect from an Alchemist CD? Tribal/middle-eastern elements showing their heads here and there, and even an appearance of the digeridoo in "Austral Spectrum". Original riffs, psychadelic keyboards and even some very catchy clean vocal choruses appear on "Tide In, Mind Out" and "Escape From the Black Hole". "Tide In, Mind Out" is my personal favourite track. Probably the most effective and satisfying build-up I have ever heard starts this song off, and the guitar riffs, vocals (shouts and clean, deep singing) can somehow remain calming despite their heavy nature.
This is an album that must simply be sat down and listened to all the way through. Once again Alchemist will carry you away to another place.
An involving and original title from one of the best metal bands you're ever likely to hear.

I first read about Alchemist while searching metal review websites. They were being praised, this undiscovered gem from down-under. Their music was being described as addictive and hypnotic, but so is LSD. So being the sorry sap I am, I purchased their two most recent albums on the strength of those reviews along. Thankfully, Alchemist delivered tenfold.

Their fourth release, Organasm, is great piece of metal. But, it is not confined to one set way. Numerous influences radiate from the tracks. This makes a sound that is utterly intoxicating. Rhythmic tribal beats, masterfully blended keyboards, and a superb vocal performance. Although I’m unsure of what their previous albums may sound like, at this point on in their career, is easy to surmise that Alchemist knows exactly what they want to be musically.

As the previous review stated it is hard to single out a specific song to recommend. From beginning to end, one is lured into another world of sound. Austral Spectrum, the first track, moves along at a steady pace until the bottom drops with an ungodly shrill shriek-commanding the listener to, “widen the spectrum”. The next three songs are a seamless trilogy, telling the rise and fall of life on Earth. Single Sided is a pounding, shrieking, statement about individualism. Tide In, Mind Out is good in ways I can’t describe. There are no filler tracks. I don’t think Alchemist can make something disposable.

This being my first time reviewing an album I’m not sure how to sum up my ideas. All I can say is the band Alchemist and their release Organasm, are both fine examples of creative prowess. Hopefully, they will be discovered by a vaster audience seeing how they deserve it.

Brilliant work.