CIPHER SYSTEM „Central Tunnel Eight”

Melodic Death
45.32 (11 songs)
Cool songs: 24 Hours Left, Central Tunnel Eight, Sufferstream, Complete
www.cipher-system.com

Who would have guessed hey? The Swedish melodic death metal sound, now seemingly a shadow of its former self in terms of ideas, isn’t quite done with just yet. Certainly, any new Swedish band looking to forge a career in this style needs to be on its game or accept a quick ride into obscurity. Having formed in 1996, ‘Cipher System’ is not exactly a new band, but with only a couple of demos and a split ep earlier this year, one could easily accuse the band of arriving about five years too late with this debut.

‘Central Tunnel Eight’ comes a couple of months out from the split ep ‘Cipher System’ shared with fellow metallers ‘By Night’. It was the latter that, in my eyes at least, fared the better on this ep, with Cipher System offering up a fairly standard and ultimately forgettable run through of a style in the last throes of its existence. However, I was willing to give CS every chance to impress when ‘CT8’ arrived – and fortunately the improvement that I had hoped for has come to fruition.

Cipher System has made a dramatic step up in all facets of their music. In fact such is the improvement, I am having a hard time believing that this is the same band. It just goes to show you how much a production counts in capturing the energy and dynamics of a bands music. With the backing of Patrik J-Sten (who also sings on “Sufferstream”) and Fredrik Nordström in the well-known Fredman Studios, it was pretty much guaranteed that ‘CT8’ would at the very least, sound great. The classic Gothenburg melodic death sound is as crystal clear as it’s ever been on this disc.

The ‘CT8’ production values are one thing, but musical ideas, passion and conviction are an absolute necessity when playing this style of music. And while CS are no innovators, it is clear to me that they are a bit more than your regular melodic death rehash act. The best thing about CS is that they take, in equal chunks, the best parts of Soilwork, Dark Tranquillity and In Flames and meld them together with a touch of Finnish keyboard atmospherics for what is a rather appealing album. They also seem to use these influences from a sort of old-school perspective. By this I mean, Cipher System’s Soilwork parts sound more ‘Chainheart Machine’ than ‘Figure No.5’; their Dark Tranquillity parts more ‘Minds I’ than ‘Damage Done’; their In Flames parts more ‘Colony’ than ‘Soundtrack’. Get the idea? If you not that impressed with the current musical stance of these three acts (particularly Soilwork and In Flames…Dark Tranquillity still rule!) then Cipher System should provide you with a tremendous alternative.

Cipher System should cause a bit of stir in the current Swedish scene. They appear to one of the few new acts willing to stay to true to the original sound. CS stick to familiar riff structure and patterns, a highly melodic backbone rides each and every track, loads of searing leads, dreamy keyboards and speedy drum work flesh out their compositions. Sure, it’s not as experimental or as progressive as the last couple of In Flames discs, but I’d make a case for ‘CT8’ to be a an infinitely more exciting and memorable disc to listen to.

note: 8.0/10

Tracklist

01 In Perfection
02 24 Hours Left
03 What If
04 State Unknown
05 Central Tunnel Eight
06 Life Surrounds
07 C.S.I.
08 Sufferstream
09 Receive, Retrieve & Escalate
10 Complete
11 Slow Chemical – Controle H (Outro)