Electrify

Eight years after a successful "Collision Course", Paradox decided to create a new album that would follow the same thoughts as its predecessor, with their famous mixture of speed, power, and technical thrash metal. This album, "Electrify", features yet different and new specificities in the band's way of playing such as a stronger coherence between the different parts of the songs and a very technical and omnipresent drumming, which is unquestionably the best instrument of this album. Let's see why.

The album starts with one of the best songs, very representative of the general guideline, "Second Over Third by Force". Everything starts with a strange introduction, almost creepy where we don't understand many things (what's happening). Then we have our first very-representative characteristic of this album, an intro of electric and clean guitars in harmony. This hand is very commonly found in the rest of the album, as we find some in "Portrait in Grey", "Bridge to Silence" and "Cyberspace Romance".

Then, still in "Second Over Third by Force", we have our first main riff, very solid yet very simple, and then the best instrument starts playing. I'm talking here about the drums (yeah no surprise if you read the intro). What's really nice about them on this album is that they perfectly mix speed and martial rhythm, which gives to the song a technical and at the same time a chiseled atmosphere. And from the very beginning of the drum play in "Second Over Third by Force", where it starts playing immediately fast, we know straight away that we're going to love it. In the opening track, it accompanies well the riffing and the parts come one after another without any irregularity, the apex of this well-made structure being in the chorus, with the mix between the singing and the martial drumming behind. Throughout the song, the drum fills are efficient as well. In "Portrait in Grey", the drumming is omnipresent as well, with a much stronger second part, with heavier fills, just as the very traditional "Infected". Finally, the last and eponymous track "Electrify" features once again a nice drumming intro and overall an excellent drum set in this very fast song that can remind the first one.

On the contrary, in the song "Cyberspace Romance", which is a sort of power-ballad, the drum set is calmer and this is mostly due to the tempo and the global mood of the song, which doesn't necessarily require a fast drumming. "Bridge to Silence" is a special song globally speaking, and the drum set is here again quite slow to be well matched with the slow and creepy atmosphere that comes from it.

However, when it comes to drum quality, the best song would unquestionably be "Hyperspeed Hallucinations", which offers us the most efficient thrash metal intro I've ever heard. Numerous fill at a different pace for an impression of chaos and destructured song and then after few hard hits from the crash cymbal and a pedal roll by the kicks the song is off to an excellent start. In the rest of the song, the drum set stays very efficient, especially in the kick pattern during the break. Nothing seems cut, everything seems rightfully calculated.

The second very big instrument is obviously the guitars, as Charly being the principal composer of all the songs. They go very well with the drum set, especially in the transitions. From this point of view, we can split the album in two by cutting it in half: the first half of the album is mostly composed of very speedy and efficient songs such as "Second Over Third by Force", "Monument" though this one may be a bit heavier than the average and "Hyperspeed Hallucinations". These songs are more focused on the rapidity of execution and of play, on efficient riffs and on good transitions. The result of all of this is almost flawless songs, each one of them bringing a unique element to the album. The second half of the album is more about atmosphere and particular moods that the songs want to convey. Though it can work, for instance with the excellent "Bridge to Silence" with its quite epic main riff, and their omnipresent harmonies (in electric like clean guitars), sometimes the result is a little bit under our expectation, like in "Infected". This song is overall good but it lacks some very interesting element, being a "more traditional thrash metal song". This is still very nice but from Paradox's skills in their songs' structure, we would probably have expected something more technical and original. But, meh. I'm just nit-picky. That's my "elitist devilish side" that wakes up in me from time to time. But anyway, back to the album. As I was telling, the second half of the album is most of all marked by the fact that the drum set doesn't lead the song anymore, in favor of the guitars and the singing.

Both sides have their little intruder though. The first half having the very short "Paralyzed" and the second "Electrify". "Paralyzed" is a calm 1-minute-long short that can act as a transition in the album. I can't really rate such a short song, but it's quite strange to find a transition song since the second track. Usually, we expect it in the middle of the album.

I also have to talk about the singing. If you took a listen to "Collision Course" right before listening to "Electrify", you won't probably find any big difference in Charly's singing. Here, he may seem a bit more sure of him but that's due to the mixing which highlights him more than in the previous full-length. However, interesting singing parts might include choruses, like the very efficient one in "Second Over Third by Force" or "Monument", as it can also include verses (this time with "Bridge to Silence", "Infected", "Disconnected" or "Cyberspace Romance").

I also have to give credit to the bass playing which has a really unique and sweet sound that goes very well with the global mixing. There are even some discreet bass solos, like in "Second Over Third by Force" or "Bridge to Silence and overall the song "Monument".

In conclusion, "Electrify" is probably Paradox's best album (which is debatable though with their next album "Riot Squad"). Hyper-speed and very technical, with excellent and pleasant melodies, you will find everything you like in Paradox with this disc. "Electrify" confirms the power metal aspect taken in "Collision Course", as it also confirms that what was Paradox's weakest aspect in their first album is henceforth their major asset: coherence and cohesion in the different parts of the songs.