[:SITD:] – Rot
release date : October 27, 2009
released by : Metropolis
info : 5th album . 11 tracks . 54:46 run time
genre : EBM
reviewed by : Aaron Andrews
In color psychology, “rot” (red) is associated with energy, heat, blood, and strong emotions like: aggression, passion, and love. Furthermore “rot” represents revolutionary movements and symbolizes wrath, one of the seven deadly sins.
After reading that statement I have to say Rot is aptly titled in a few ways. There is a certain intensity and energy throughout the album. It’s not exactly revolutionary but it is carefully crafted and an enjoyable listen.
My familiarity with [:SITD:] before listening to this album was through their remixing, where I found the songs they touched always came out excellently. The band understands dance music and has put together an album that proves that in all of its faster tracks. The song structures are created with the steady movement forward and intelligent use of both breaks and build ups. Soaring string synthlines are anchored by the even, low vocals and a strong bed of intense rhythm. The compositions are focused on the music and there’s little misplaced loyalty to the lyrical content. Vocals aren’t always the focus but when they are added they make a positive contribution.
The dance songs are really where it’s at for me on this album and with most of the album being made up of these, it is kind of disappointing hearing the slower stuff like “Destination”. With such a firm grasp on making thrilling dance music the shift to more vocal focused ballad-like songs at several points was disappointing. Those pieces came up feeling a little forced and didn’t have the emotional energy that the album’s name implies.
[:SITD:] do so many things right that I have a great time listening to this album, it was worth investing the time for repeated listening and quite a few of these songs are welcome to my ears at the club.recommended tracks : Catharsis (Heal Me, Control Me), Rot v1.0, Pride, Pharmakon
if you like you may like : Rotersand, Project Pitchfork, VNV Nation
overall 7 . lyrics 6 . music 7 . recording quality 8
