The Summary Judgment Review:
Title: Solace
Artist: Ion Dissonance
Label: Abacus Recordings
Release Date: 9/6/05

Rating: 3 Skulls
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    • Reviewed by Crimhead (12/10/05):
    With an album I shall conservatively deem utterly relentless, Ion Dissonance have unleashed upon the metal world an abrasive, mathematical, and disjointed sophomore effort in Solace. Inevitably, this band will garner comparisons to a well-known act with similar stylistic sensibility, so I will get it over with now: The (ubiquitous) Dillinger Escape Plan. I know, I know...the analogy isn't perfect or fair, but DEP serves as a convenient reference point for tackling this album. However, before we go any further, I feel compelled to explain my take on all that is math metal.

    We all have our biases and preferences. When it comes to the subgenre of math metal, I think that 1999's Calculating Infinity is the gold standard by which similar releases are to be judged. Sorry folks, but that's how it is. At least you know where I stand and can make an informed decision about Ion Dissonance given this fact. Anyhow, the critical and commercial success of the Dillinger Escape Plan has led, as is to be expected, to the requisite spate of knock-offs and clones within the subgenre. This explosion, of course, has resulted in the gobbling up and shitting out of an incalculable (no pun intended) number of underdeveloped bands by all of the expected record labels. The end product? The Locust.

    Fuck.

    Now, before you conclude that I've dismissed math metal entirely, there is a caveat. Namely, that many of these bands eventually realize the folly of their ways, and release albums that utilize the best aspects of their technical prowess, tempered with the infusion of groove-laden, straightforward, or otherwise melodic passage that serve as a counterbalancing force to all of the chaos. This in turn leads to a varied product that doesn't leave me absolutely bored to tears by the third track. Some of my favorite bands (Candiria, Anata, DEP, to name a few) have grasped this concept and are the first I reach for when I'm in the mood for a dose of math or rhythmical prowess.

    So where does that leave Ion Dissonance? To restate the obvious, this album is an absolute clinic in terms of musical virtuosity. Jean-Francois is a beast on the drums, and his playing is on par with his Canadian counterpart, Flo Mournier. Both have speed to burn and exhibit tremendous creativity within the framework of highly complex song structures. As for the guitar work, it is all that we have come to expect from this genre: explosive, impossibly precise, and featured prominently in the mix. The vocals are a bit tiresome, covering the range between "barking hardcore" and "slightly higher-pitched barking hardcore." The bass player frequently breaks out with long-winded funk solos, which is really groundbreaking for a mathcore band. Aw, I'm just kidding, he quit the band years ago. Prove to me that he didn't.

    Bottom line: if you like your technical-math-metal-man-I-wish-this-song-had-a-chorus-core with virtually no accessibility and extremely impressive showmanship, you will probably love this album. To reiterate, you will undoubtedly be impressed with the sheer heft and technicality that Ion Dissonance exhibit. I'm simply of the opinion that these guys could vary their sound a bit and end up with a more mature sound, instead of a collection of seemingly unrelated and sterile bursts of math. All in all, Solace is a decent release from a band that has the potential to release a monster in the near future. If I could give it 3 and a half skulls, I would.
    3 out of 5

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