My first encounter with Communic was in 2006, when they played in the slot before headliners Riverside at ProgPower Europe. To be truthful I can’t remember anything about it, and haven’t followed their progress in any detail since, but I do know they are a band of renown and now with “Hiding from the World” the Norwegians are releasing their sixth album.
Situated towards the heavier end of the progressive metal spectrum, Communic’s music packs a punch. “Plunder of Thoughts”, which opens this album, has a hard-hitting riff. The switch to dreamier and epic vocal choruses works well and the overall effect is dramatic. The vocal delivery reminds me greatly of Green Carnation, I have to say, and the effect is the same: on the one hand the music is sophisticated and progressive, but you can’t shy away from the fact from the lyrics that there’s something dark and sinister about this. “Let me hide from this world today” are the words to begin the title track. From hard-hitting prog we’ve moved to melancholy and reflection, tears even. That heavy riff enters the scene darkly. Admirable as the words are, Communic do what many prog bands do and fill the room with them. I was glad of the respite of the instrumental sections which are very good and deserve not to be swamped in words. “I can never tell anyone my curse”, the vocalist tells us while proceeding to do so at great length. “Hiding from the World” is a well-constructed song but I’d prefer to be enraptured in the music than having to listen to the emotion of the narrative. I rather suspect that I missed the point here but that’s what I thought anyway. Where Communic excel is in the transformation of mood, and although I found “My Temple of Pride” to be another exercise in verbosity, the tempo and atmosphere are seamlessly manipulated. “Face in the Crowd” starts on a heavy note. The latest story begins. The music ramps up and Communic guide us through an exciting instrumental passage. The colours change again. “Face in the Crowd” is thoroughly absorbing and for me highlights Communic at their best. For the first time it seemed that the instrumental mix drove it. By contrast “Born Without A Heart” starts with the story but there’s no conflict as the background is soft and acoustic. A harder riff comes in and the song builds up, falling back into acoustic-reflective mode. This works for a while but as the song goes on, it drifts back into the narrative and whilst others may wallow in its melancholic reflection, I just thought it went on too long. “Scavengers Await” shares the dramatic qualities of its predecessors but again I found it indigestible. The album closes with “Forgotten”, a long emotive piece straight out of the book of Green Carnation.
My thoughts on this album are mixed. Musically “Hiding from the World” is powerful and atmospheric. But for me the album lacks space. It’s not true to say that the instrumentals and vocal content compete with each other but for much of it the fine instrumentals are stifled by the multitude of words. I accept that prog is about emotion and there’s plenty of that but the net result of all this was that I felt I no breathing space to absorb the powerful instrumental work and at the same time to indulge my imagination while listening to the album.
(6.5/10 Andrew Doherty)
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