Twice Second

The metal community has generally prided itself on having its adherents rise through the ranks organically, especially following the downturn in commercial fortunes that it suffered following the early 1990s. Discounting some of the bizarre flirtations that the pop scene has had with the genre in subsequent years, with the groove and nu-metal crazes being among the most brazen, even the corporate side of the nascent metal scene of the millennial era has usually been hesitant to go the way of the major labels and use its propaganda apparatus to pass off an inferior product as the next big thing. However, there have been some exceptions to this implicit rule of thumb, and many of them have come to the hapless, marginalized metal masses via Metal Blade Records. Case and point, the odd 2000s European power metal phenomenon that was Germany's Symphorce, a band that was seemingly ubiquitous throughout the entire decade yet scarcely registered with the core of the scene tied to said subgenre.

On paper, this band seemed to have everything going for it by the time the mid-2000s rolled in, including but not limited to a highly charismatic singer and leader in Andy B. Franck whose exemplary work with Brainstorm spoke for itself as well as a lineup of reasonably competent support musicians. Indeed, the then present involvement of guitarist Cede Dupont with Freedom Call was likely an influence on this outfit's notoriety within power metal circles, and that same exposure was likely responsible for newly acquired second guitarist Markus Pohl's later entry into Mystic Prophecy. Likewise, the band's progressive stylistic quirks and groove metal riffing tendencies could well explain the band's longevity given how massively popular Nevermore was at the time. Ultimately these inroads would prove fruitless due to a combination of stale, contrived songwriting and poor execution on the part of everyone involved, save maybe for Andy's vocals which are generally on point, and their 2004 LP Twice Second is a veritable case study in how not to construct an album.

One of the hallmarks of European power metal, and to an extent also its American forerunner, is a progression from adversity to triumph via an involved harmonic scheme behind the riff work and theatrical vocals. In this respect, these songs can be better understood as anti-power metal, in that they present a static, hyper-repetitive songwriting approach that would register as half-assed even when compared to the drudgery of The Politics Of Ecstasy, which was likely a huge influence on this album. The near 6-minute long opener "Fallen" is a classic example of this approach of going through the motions without really putting any effort into developing things, as one rhythmically precise yet utterly vapid riff clumsily transitions to the next, and ultimately manifesting in a "dark" progressive metal anthem with a chorus hook that's a little too melodic to fit in with the rest of the song, but far from compelling enough to leave any kind of a lasting impression. The song is just sort of there, and then it leaves with little intrigue to speak of save a by-the-numbers guitar solo that is somewhat flashy, but mirrors the song's general lack of direction.

With a few isolated exceptions, the rest of this punishingly redundant 54 minute slough continues the banality of the opening clunker, with Franck's vocals being the only real kinetic element in play. The generally mid-paced groovy nod to Nevermore "Tears" has a somewhat interesting chorus line, but surrounds it with stale filler segments, some of which struggle to even sound metallic, let alone powerful. "Whatever Hate Provides" and "Cause Of Laughter" plunge even further into the murky depths of annoying modern rock riffing with too much distortion coupled with lame Machine Head-inspired chugs, and find Franck faltering significantly as he overdoses on the dramatics and begins to resemble the worst moments of Warrel Dane's recent exploits way too much. But if there is one song on here that truly sums up this band's crippling fixation with static songwriting, it's the down-tempo, repetitive, quasi-grunge fit of musical flatulence "Take What's Mine", which exemplifies the modern groove metal ballad fail to the nth degree. Nothing really emerges to save this train-wreck, but if one were to pinpoint the song on here that is least impacted by this band's fetish for ceaseless repetition, it's the occasional thrasher and fairly competent prog song "Face The Pain", which could pass for a semi-decent B-side off Enemies Of Reality.

As with most of Symphorce's poor excuse for a discography, this album is basically a collective failure on all fronts, save maybe for the hit or miss job performed by Andy Franck. It's still a mind-boggling thing, contemplating how a singer associated with two highly respectable and competent bands in Ivanhoe and Brainstorm could be the mastermind behind such a lackluster afterthought within a scene that prided itself on being memorable. Ultimately, this band's designation as a power metal act is one of the most bizarre misnomers in the entire history of the sub-genre, though given that this stagnant dreck doesn't really seal the deal on aping Nevermore's progressive/groove metal shtick, it's probably the only label that can really be applied. But however one goes about attempting to categorize this band and this sad little album, it isn't something that is worth anyone's time, and the fact that they stuck it out for three more freaking albums (2 of them backed by Metal Blade no less) is a sad reminder that bad music has its share of champions. The least that this hack outfit could have done was leave these poor seahorses out of it.

Okay... now what's the first thing that happens to you when I mention either
Symphorce or Brainstorm? I don't know about you but my eyes glaze over and I start fidgeting around in boredom. I think anything Andy B. Franck touches is just meant for complete and utter mediocrity. He's not a bad singer, he's actually a damn good one but when I listen to him sing I just here a good technical singer. I don't hear any emotion whatsoever. I'm not saying he has to sing deep meaningful lyrics or anything like that but the best metal singers can convey emotion, technically proficient or not. It's all in the delivery and the conviction with which he delivers his vocals.

That being said, here we are with album number four from Symphorce. Where is the band going as a whole? Well it's the next logical progression for the band. More groove oriented and more Nevermore-like. Is this a bad thing? Well, maybe for the more old school and possibly some of the Brainstorm fans that are following Andy for this next album. The only bad thing here really is the just the plain blandness of the whole thing. From song to song I hear a band wanting to be heavy, wanting to move forward with their music. I think it's a great thing, many bands become so stagnant it hurts, but there are only a few songs here which really bring out any feeling. This IS better than the last album though and Symphorce, at least to me, are showing promise for the future.

Now as for the album... The first song is Fallen. The first thing I think for the
first 30 secons of the actual music is, "Wow, this sounds a lot like the riff to
Brainstorm's "Highs Without the Lows" and it's true. After that though we get more of a heavy mid-paced chugging, very Nevermore sounding (the guitar sound on the album is very close to Nevermore as well). The vocals are typical Andy B. Franck, the news clips and the vocal effects used for a call and answer style verse are interesting but not really anything that get me to sing along with the song.

Tears was the song that was first released on mp3 on the Metal Blade website. I definitely know why that is as this is the best song on the album. Very heavy for the verses going into a more melodic and simple chorus. The vocal melody really catches me on this one and it's probably the first song Andy has come up with that I actually find myself singing along to at times. Cause of Laughter was the first video Symphorce made for the album (a crappy video by the way). It's a good midpaced song though. Yet again, one of the better Symphorce songs I've heard. Face of Pain starts off mid-paced for the first 20 seconds or so but hits into a thrash riff with a solid 1-2 drum beat. Unfortunately that only lasts for about 15 seconds before a different variation on the riff comes in where it just kind of chugs along for the verse. Only to go back into another thrash riff... then another boring riff. The same thing happens over and over. I think the faster thrash riff would have worked well to create a different feeling song for the album but unfortunately that didn't happen. And that hardcore-ish breakdown riff with the solo over it, fuck that's terrible.

Two Seconds to Live is another song like Face of Pain, it teases you with some cool riffage but uses these riffs far too little with other boring riffs thrown inbetween. The rest of the album (In the Cold, Whatever Hate Provides, Take What's Mine, Searching, and Cry on My Shoulder) is boring and just plain uninteresting. There's a bonus track on the european version that fans of the band may wish to have called Under the Curse but honestly, if I were you, I'd not buy the album at all and if I had to have it I'd get the cheapest version I could get my hands on.