Create.Control.Exterminate.

I've listened to so much melodeath over the years, sometimes I frankly feel desensitized to the easy on the ears harshness and arresting allure that the over-reliance of keyboards and exaggerated leads grant. From second-rate worshipers of the Scandinavian sound like Made of Hate and Starkill to purveyors of the more cerebral like Dark Tranquillity and Omnium Gatherum, few can deny the prolificity and breadth of influence of a genre that has long found itself stagnating in tepid waters of its own creation. I personally try and cherish finds like Fear of Domination, who have the electronically-augmented sound employed by many a band in a figurative headlock. I mentioned in my review for Distorted Delusions (this record's successor) that these Finns began with a template not too far removed from early Shade Empire, eventually hammering it out into a more malleable, disparate whole flirting with a number of extremes. I actually find it pretty depressing that these guys feel the need to push this ridiculous image that walks a tightrope between The Kovenant and Marilyn Manson, because their first two records are very much exercises in crunchy, hammering melodic death with spectacular keyboards and atmosphere.

The closest parallel I can draw to the riffs on Create.Control.Exterminate. would be a more brick-and-mortar, Americanized take on the prototypical Finnish sound, naturally falling rather close to Children of Bodom's Are You Dead Yet? In fact, this album is at many a juncture what Are You Dead Yet? could have been if Alexi had the wherewithal to crank the keyboards like we all would have wished. It doesn't even end there, as this is the last record to feature keyboardist Niina Telén, who also contributes a pleasant vocal counterpoint to Solin's utilitarian (yet flawed in the typical Finnish way) roars. The keyboards themselves are the end result of a collaborative effort between Telén and the producer, and while this is where most bands like Fear of Domination bite the synthetic dust, these guys definitely got it working. It is almost like later Blood Stain Child, minus the horrendous Anders Fridén vocal worship and much more of a reliance on punishing clusters of grooves as opposed to the more lead-oriented element often over-employed.

And while Distorted Delusions had a real penchant for convincing, albeit comical vocal acrobatics that bordered on Deathstars at times, Create.Control.Exterminate. features stronger, more consistent songwriting along with a more nose to the grindstone temperament. Both are splendid efforts, but great for reasons quite distant from one another. I definitely prefer Telén to her predecessor, as she has the presence of mind to litter every song with a plethora of flanged saw leads and buzzing patches that patently sell the atmosphere on their own. I'm not sure what rig she is using, but I don't think it is a KORG. Her serene clean vocals are only icing on the cake, as they take center stage for the more rueful, desolate break in the action that is "We Will Fall Apart." She oftentimes doubles with Solin like during the chorus of "Pandemonium" (the best track) - and it works surprisingly well. Briefly touching on Solin, his throaty rumble is very exaggerated and exhaled like Petri from Norther or Valjakka from Whispered. It may be attributable to the Finnish accent, but these guys all sort of sound the same. A decent performance that at the very least sells the extremity of the subject matter at hand.

The album actually gets better as it goes on, as "Tool of God" sounds bleak as all get out and must slay live. Following this is "Control Within," which is the most enterprising cut from a compositional point of view. Thoroughly demented and snapshots straight to the back of your cerebrum. Fear of Domination manages to keep each passage hot and piping, lest the band succumb to their own eccentric nature. Virtually nothing drags on too long (save for maybe "Coma") and the end result is one of the best melodeath albums I have appraised this year. Many will see the industrial tag and instinctively scoff, but trust me, this isn't for fans of Godflesh or Skin Chamber. Fear of Domination is very much of the garish, cinematic variety that branched off from the scene birthed by Fear Factory. Even so, don't judge this book by its cover, as Create.Control.Exterminate. irrefutably rips and totally belies the immature presentation of the band members themselves.