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September 26, 2011

Autodafeh – “Act of Faith”: Viva Music Album Review

Tracklist: “Heaven Screams” * “Killer” * “Land of Nothing” * “Reality Shock” * “Make Us Believe” * “Watch Out” * “Treasure Hunt” * “Wheel of Faith” * “Promises” * “Camp Intel” * “Fuel of Fire (2011)” * “Divided We Fall (2011)

Other Autodafeh news on darkwave.ro: Autodafeh to Release “Act of Faith” on September-16!

About Autodafeh:

Autodafeh are: Mika Rossi, Jesper Nilsson, Anders Olsson.  The ADF project started in the middle of November 2007, the two lads Rossi and Jesper, friends since childhood, decided to launch a new EBM campaign. They both had been growing up with lots of electronic music in their body and mind. Since November, lots of hard work and lots of sweat has been taken the band where they are today. Hard pumping, aggressive tracks have been constructed, in order to have loads of material to show both listeners and record companies. The third member in the band is Anders, an important person that makes it complete. He too has EBM pulse floating in his veins. (source: band bio)

Autodafeh – “Act of Faith: Viva Music Review:

With their third album, “Act of Faith” released on Sep-16 with Scanner Records (Europe) and Sigsaly Transmissions, Autodafeh prove listening to their music is worthwhile and the progress musicians can make in the shortest of whiles – it’s not unusual for bands who are in their prime to release their third album in their third full year of existence, but it’s only more rarely the case that it also means something. And “Act of Faith” stands out as a very fresh and easily approachable new material this fall. With the year closing soon, it is not risky to claim that it also is one of our favorite materials this year! So the recommendation to buy and listen to the album is inherent to this review.

First and foremost, the sound of Autodafeh is remarkably good. The content of their lyrics is not at all trite, and if you add to that the quality of their music, it becomes obvious we are talking about one hell of a release. Comprising 12 tracks, out of which 2 are new renditions (“Fuel of Fire” from “Hunt for Glory” – 2008, and “Divided We Fall” from “Identity Unknown” – 2010), “Act of Faith” translates in its title the band’s name (approximate rendition of Portuguese Auto-da-fé: public penance, of the kind inflicted by the Portuguese/Spanish Inquisition. Deliteralized, the sense of the title reaches further into the social conscience as being related to any act by which an individual decides to be him/herself and act accordingly, instead of simply complying with the societal rules within which he/she lives. Therefore, the emotional charge carried by the album title is one of major significance, and it is invested more than satisfactorily in the album content.

The very compelling initial track, “Heaven Screams” deserves a straight ten and in its EBM perfection needs no description, just listen to it! “Heaven Screams” ‘screams’ out of its context, and in a good way, it balances dramatically the lyrical content to the musical line and creates a special kind of harmony. “Killer”, a Viva Music favorite, is the proof we needed the album is heading where we expected, high up on our playlist. There are a million reasons why you should love “Killer” and boy, do they make good music in Sweden! Melodically ranging up next with Necro Facility gems we discovered this year (which is as high as something can get in 2011), the guys from Autodafeh generate a very good vibe and decidedly create a trend of their own, one we would like to listen to more often in today’s musical landscape. And if the pattern of personal emotions and considerations that exceed the boundaries of the individual appeal to you, then there is “Land of Nothing” to keep you company: its sound seems a specific cutout from your wildest EBM dreams and its elegance really leaves one gaping.

As superlative – but with its own cachets of personality, the ulterior “Reality Shock” is a song you need to learn to love if love does not come at first listen. Its microstructure is built in such a manner you can actually feel all the minute clashes of cultures, individuals, realities and philosophies that create a unique, fully impacting shock. Darker than its album predecessors, this “Act of Faith” scion shoots at quite a distance! We loved equanimously their “Make Us Believe”, which borrows heavily on the title’s plea to the extent of deriving such a good feel in the song that it becomes a tough choice whether to stick with this track or move on to the next. Eloquently, “Watch Out” makes the choice of moving on easier; the sound is next to perfect, and if in “Make Us Believe” there were tinges of groovy Front 242 immixing into the pattern of the song (and without getting judgmental, is it not so with all genre-defining bands?), in “Watch Out” you have the purest of forms of Autodafeh. At their probable highest to date, they reach out with versatility and the simplicity given by a good musical script.

After their seducing “Treasure Hunt”, a track so beautiful that it deserves a review entry on its own (hint for the Depeche Mode crowd, too!), we are faced to a more playfully serious Wheel of Faith”, a rock solid song that really gives substance to the album. “Promises” relieves in a way the tension built up in the album, but not without setting challenges of its own, all in a song worth millions. A truly masterful “Camp Intel” concludes the ‘new’ section of the album; leaving the floor to the 2011 reworks of “Fuel of Fire” and “Divided We Fall”, which are cleverly inserted for their listeners who are less acquainted with their previous work and need a taste of it before wanting all the cake. And they are convincing, in the commonest sense of the word; they show how far they have actually traveled between two very positive poles.

Act of Faith” should definitely find a place on your must-listen list. Even the season it was released in, namely autumn seems to match its colors, texture and sounds. Don’t miss out “Act of Faith” – and look for their dates in 2012, there are vibes telling us you are going to start seeing them perform live dates across Europe more prominently in no time.

AutodafehOfficial Website | on Facebook | Discography on Discogs

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