A Doorway to Elsewhere

I loved this type of metalcore back in the day. Germany had several of these kinds of bands; shredded vocals, film score intros, digipak sleeves with abstract-ish artwork. The German take on metalcore in the late 1990s was way more evil than it was anywhere else in Europe. I remember buying records by Jane, Caliban, Deamon's Jaded Passion, Heaven Shall Burn, etc. A couple of these bands (Caliban and Heaven Shall Burn) softened their approach and broke out into the broader metal scene, but all these bands sounded similar in the beginning. Jane was the best of the bunch.

"A Doorway to Elsewhere" sounds utterly ruthless on first listen. The rasping, shrieking vocals must have been inspired by black metal. The production is clear and every instrument sounds powerful. The breakdowns are thunderous, the drumming is beefy and varied. Some of the riffs are truly evil, and then there are proggy sections which probably arise from older emo bands. Jane created an overall effect that was much scarier than most of the metalcore you could find elsewhere.

But I haven't listened to Jane in over a decade, and there must be a reason for that. The reason is because records like this are rooted in a late 1990s timewarp. The German scene from which Jane came was a pale imitation of an earlier German scene. The early/mid-nineties bands like Acme, Carol and Metöke gained worldwide recognition (in a limited, underground way). These bands must have influenced Jane and their contemporaries. Those earlier bands retained credibility across the hardcore spectrum, from crusty Rorschach and Citizen's Arrest fans to the moshy metalcore brigade. Bands like Jane only appealed to the latter.

Ultimately, records like "A Doorway to Elsewhere" lack depth. I like every element of this record, but it doesn't do much for me as a whole. There isn't much that sinks in once you’ve heard the evil riffs, intense vocals and crashing fills. What you'll hear on first listen is what you'll hear on every listen. It is a good record, but you can’t build a lasting relationship with it. Jane had a lot going for them but their music gets old fast. This corner of the hardcore scene feels like another century away. Listen to this album by all means, expect to be impressed, and then to forget about it.