Total

The 1990s had its fair share of oddities insofar as metal was concerned, stemming in no small part from the art form becoming a topic of derision in popular circles and some blatant sabotage on the part of the recording industry and media. Only a handful of styles within this once expansive style were deemed acceptable by said parties, and wherein the specific case of thrash metal was concerned, the restrained trappings of Pantera and Machine Head were the order of the day if one wished to stay relevant. However, there was a small wrinkle added to this oppressive rule of thumb once getting outside of the confines of the United States and Britain, alongside an ascendant interest in progressive metal thanks to the success of several bands during the earliest part of the decade. Even as late as 1994 it wasn't outside of the realm of possibility for a band to still be clinging to the old ways, though most were on a slow walk towards a more "modernized" sound. Such was the case of Finnish thrashers and scene latecomers Antidote, whom opted for a compromise between the heavy-ended and more frenetic trappings of their 1992 debut The Truth and a hodgepodge of contemporary influences for their second studio foray.

Perhaps the lone flaw that dogs Total, the album in question, is a general lack of stylistic coherence, and it is a pretty glaring one for any trustee of thrash metal. Even the quirky album art, which features what looks like the liquid metal state of the T-1000's head with a rainbow being projected outward like something out of a late 70s arena rock nightmare, instills a sense of confusion more so than it provides any clue as to what the intended message would be. The general template is definitely of a riff-oriented, thrashing quality, but it is presented in a highly cryptic fashion, featuring extended grooving passages that frequently jump to faster territory in the most jarring of fashions, often littered with peripheral detailing that is tangentially connected to the rest of the song at best. Perhaps the closest points of comparison would be the more melodic and controlled approach of Xentrix's For Whose Advantage? and the wandering songwriting of Depressive Age's debut, but with a lot of other stuff thrown in that robs it of its full potential. It is of a fairly technical character, often featuring impressive lead guitar work and busy drumming that occasionally reminds of Mike Portnoy's handiwork on Images And Words, but the general flow of things tends to eschew a point of resolution or cadence in favor of continual progression.

All of that being considered, this is still a reasonably solid example of the versatile character of thrash metal that many of the sub-genre's critics insist either doesn't exist or is otherwise the exception rather than the rule. One standout moment includes the heavy-pounding "Woe Betide Them", which generally resides on the mid-paced end of the spectrum but really lays down the percussive riffing with a vengeance, begins on a nifty little harmonized guitar intro that's quite infectious, and features one of the better vocal displays out of Nino Laurenne, who manages to balance a raunchy gruff shout with some sick, glass-shattering shrieks. "You Medicate" also lays down the nasty riffage at a moderate pace, functioning almost like a less repetitive and more bottom-heavy retread of where Metallica was in the late 80s, while the dense and melodic feel of "Into The Dreamside" has a bit more of an older heavy metal character, but really lays down some sweet harmonized guitar moments. Even some of the clunkier long offerings such as "Life For A Lie" and the opener "Cold" have some truly solid moments, occasionally veering into high octane thrashing territory, it just takes a while to get there. Truth be told, there are no overt bad songs to be found on this album, it's just that a lot of these songs would be better served with a more streamlined approach and a few ancillary elements being cut from the mix.

Though it's more of a historic curiosity from an era that was not really known for producing a lot of classics than it is a diamond in the rough, this is an album that might hold some appeal for those who thought thrash's best days were towards the end of its original run in the early 90s. It has a bit more of a melodic bent to it than most of the mainline stuff that was being marketed at the time, and comes with the oddball distinction of having none other than Stratovarius mastermind Timo Tolkki providing some backing vocals, something he was occasionally known for doing in various mid-90s to support the Finnish metal scene when looking at his equally out of character appearances on the sophomore outings of death metal adherents Corporal Punishment and 90s progressive upstarts Hundred Years. Somewhere buried underneath the heavily restrained, gradualist approach to getting from point A to point B, there is a killer thrash album just waiting to burst out of this thing, but it doesn't quite close the deal and make those extended introductions and interludes work with the anticipated apex points. Far from being a terrible album, Total is more a victim of its own ambition, and while it's very possible for someone to enjoy this, it's almost inevitable that anyone who takes to this will be skipping around a bit. At nearly an hour in length (over an hour if one gets the Japanese version), it's potential greatness is overshadowed by its lack of restraint in restraining itself.

I am not an opponent of change in a band's sound, provided that change reflects a willingness to grow, evolve, and improve. I'm sure Finland's Antidote thought they were doing those very things when they released Total. No stranger to horrible album art, they have outdone themselves with this one...which looks like some reject that Triumph or Journey decided not to use after all, or some lost fragment of 70s modern disco deco. As for the sound, the band comes across as more mature on this album. More restrained. Even laid back. But as we are about to discover, this is not always a positive, especially when you are following up an album like The Truth, which lived and died on its viral accessibility and pounding steel rhythms.

The biggest difference on this record would be the vocals, which are still Nino Laurenne, but he's lost a lot of the low end grizzle that he used on The Truth. Most of the singing on the album is a laconic, melodic mid to higher range, but he'll still bust out the howls, only here they sound more like Peavey of the German legends Rage. There are still good riffs to be found on Total, and in fact, a few of them are excellent. But I really wish that the band had cut loose more in the production here, because a few of the songs sound a little too sterile and polished, and might have benefited from some chaos.

In retrospect, "Cold" may not have been the best way to start the album. It's a pretty boring track, not putting the band's best foot forward. Later, when Laurenne emits some of his siren-like Rage wails, the track begins to warm up, and the solo section is decent. But the major riffs driving the verse sound far too restrained, and the drums sound too poppy and lifeless. "Woe Betide Them" is more successful, opening with a playful, folksy melody that transforms into a Prong-ish thrash groove. The drums crash a little more, and Nino's got some edge to his voice here like the debut album. The chorus has some great backing vocals, and the solos are great, before the band busts back into that opening melody. Easily one of the Total highlights. It is unfortunate, then, that the next track, "Life is a Lie", is a garbled mess. It starts off with some screeching guitar feedback, then a deep rhythm that might have worked if they built it into the drum groove, yet they fuck around with it and we are treated to another of the band's decent dual melodies, before falling apart into a rhythm that sounds part cheap Pantera garbage and part Prong groove. Nino's vocals range from Peavey to Hetfield on this one, and while there are a few interesting points later in the track, like a nice, easy lead and a cool vocal/backing vocal interplay bridge, the song could have been a lot better with the weaker elements chopped out.

"Rain" crawls along at a doomed gait, and if Nino didn't often belt out a brash vocal line here or there, I would hardly be able to tell this is the same band, but the song does have a decent melody in place of a solo, and it's far from the worst here. "Multiverse" enters with the same, slowed pace as "Rain", but the riff here is very much like a slowed Metallica, as are the verse vocals, and the rest of the track is pretty interesting, pensive and drawn out thrash metal which definitely supports the title. "My Million Years" has Pete Peltonen plodding below another, basic thrash chug that transforms into some churning grooves and then a nice, old school metal riff below a melodic guitar. Basically, whenever the track lays off the far too simplified central chug, it gets quite good, like the screaming guitars in the distance at the 3:00 mark. The rhythms that introduces "You Medicate" sounds like outtakes from The Black Album, but the song picks up and it's another of the better pieces on the album.

"Slowmotion" uses a guitar like an air raid siren over a groove metal rhythm, then breaks into a bizarre verse with Peltonen's bass wandering about, briefly summoning up a comparison to Mekong Delta. The bass work and the guitar effects throughout the track are pretty engaging, especially at 2:45, but the rhythms below are mediocre. "Life Recall" has another Beg to Differ-style rhythm that chugs along into a hardcore groove, and Laurenne again uses some of his Hetfield tones. As a whole, the song is unusual, but one of the worst here. "Into the Dreamside" competes with "Woe Beside Them" for 'best of show', with some emotional vocals similar to the first album, and great melodic guitar work throughout.

Total is an hour of peaks and valleys, as Antidote seems to struggle for an identity. There are many interesting ideas, and this album could be labeled 'progressive thrash' without offense, but not all of them succeed. I believe that there are enough worthwhile moments for a fan of The Truth to at least listen once, but the album is less cohesive than that predecessor, an inferior product in all categories. If this had been an EP, with "Woe Beside Them" and "Into the Dreamside", and the rest of the songs chopped up and reconfigure into two more, good songs, I would give this a passing grade, but as it stands, it just isn't something I'll revisit.

Highlights: Woe Beside Them, Into the Dreamside

-autothrall
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