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Tracklist
-->11> the brightest light
12> unleash the energy
13> a prophecy written in uranium
14> infected by life
15> the purifying flames
16> solid structure unknown
17> as the sky opens
18> deConstructor
19> dead men's choir
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Incorporating pig-squeal vocals, tight, technical thrash riffing, shred style soloing and outboard drum programming makes the music of V:28 quite hard to pin down, but the end result is a refreshing shift in the manner in which extreme metal is approached, without a doubt.
As guitarist/vocalist Eddie Risdal grunts and groans his way through the albums nineteen intricate tracks, his comrade Kristoffer Oustad blazes across the fretboard, pulling off complex arpeggios as if they were basic power chords and interjecting a colossal quantity of strange lead breaks that act as the glue which holds the band's songs together.
The production quality on the record is stupendous, with Oustad gaining some of the best guitar tones you'll hear on an independent budget. Atle Johansen virtually takes his bass apart on these tracks, playing the instrument as if it were a guitar in many instances. The high degree of technical ability is balanced by sound arrangements and superior attention to the small details that make this incredibly complicated engine run. One minute it sounds like you're listening to Steve Vai on crack, in the next the band turn to speed metal or Gothenburg melodies without blinking an eye.
V:28 can turn a riff backward and foreword again, then stop on a dime without a second thought. Musicians will dig this band first and foremost, but there's much for the fan to grab hold of here as well.
File alongside Necrophagist and Beneath The Massacre in terms of sheer bombastic fortitude, but take care to know that these guys are major shredders first and foremost.
Review by: Erin Fox
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