My science spirit just woke up. Tardive dyskinesias are neurological disorders characterized by involuntary movements of the tongue, lips, face and jaw. They are most common in patients with schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, or bipolar disorder who have been treated with antipsychotic medication for long periods, but they occasionally occur in other patients, as well. Well, I also do have this disorder when I am eating pizza.
TARDIVE DYSKINESIA is a Greek “djent-prog, post metal” band and with their fourth album “Harmonic Confusion” by Playfalse Records, they’re here to teach us some music. This album is kinda simpler than their previous albums we all know. Are they tired? I waited a complex album with outnumbered riffs, seminars for progressive music and more synthetic bass lines that revile the band at its best.
“Heavy and groovy songs mixed with jazz riffs but in a way that I’ve heard before.”
The production and editing, which is clearly awesome, was done by guitarist Steve Lado (VERMINGOD, STILL FALLING, BLACK HAT BONES, DANGER ANGEL etc), while the mastering was done by the great Jens Bogren (KATATONIA, OPETH, AMON AMARTH, PAIN OF SALVATION, PARADISE LOST, KREATOR etc) at Fascination Street Studios in Sweden.
As I listen to the album, I realize it consists of songs six to seven minutes long. “Self Destructive Haze” and “Concentric Waves” are clear copies from MESHUGGAH and MASTODON, respectively. The hard sound is on the background while the silver voice of the vocalist Manthos Stergiou, is in the first line of war which clearly seems very practiced. “Harmonic Confusion” is definitely a respectable progressive metal album and nothing more.
TARDIVE DYSKINESIA have been around for ten years now, with four full length albums already out. Probably, with “Harmonic Confusion” they’re trying to tell us that their sound and structure of songs is very similar to other bands, a quote to which I couldn’t agree more. They also have heavy and groovy songs mixed with jazz riffs, also true, but in a way that I’ve heard before. My opinion is that TARDIVE DYSKINESIA, had a great choice of an amazing album cover and awesome name, except from the rest of the pack.
PS: Last but not least, the frontman Manthos organizes the New Long Fest every year. This is a great opportunity for Greek metal scene to show how big this gang is…