Immediately after the listener hits the play button, one is welcomed to the first track, Scourge, which opens an atmosphere of sound and keys. Fifty seconds in, the sound changes to dense, heavy/pounding growls and brutalization of death metal with a hip-hop vibe before carrying on with the remaining five songs; well, four; I feel like the last track is more like a dark outro.
Continuing with the last four songs (including the first and last), they are all composed, well-arranged, and captivating. While each of the six pieces doesn’t sound the same, thus adding (fusion of) various compositions (said beforehand) such as the heavy and brutalization of death metal, darkened bleak of black metal, (slow) crushing/heaviness sound of stoner doom metal.
Iconic drum machines with various drum patterns/beats, roaring HM2 guitar riffs, crushing growls, voice/sound samples and effects, a rap/hip-hop vibe, and a futuristic sound accompany them. Political lyrics and a pacifistic and humanistic philosophy, the primary lyrical influence besides hedonism and self-irony, accompany them.
Within the twenty minutes of playtime, which was different, interesting, ear-catching, new, and fresh; while the rap/hip-hop music didn’t overshadow the extreme metal or vice versa, but a perfect balance of both (not overpowering each other), topped with top-notch production in sound/music and fantastic devilmanship.
Proof of Concept showcases that you can mix anything with extreme metal, welcoming the listener with death metal, experimental, and industrial music with a hip-hop vibe.
The album comes to an end with the last song, Hush Hush, which welcomes the listener to ambient keys and a lullaby (led by a female/male), while the dark soundscape (yet beautiful) that’s similar to the German (dark ambient/darkwave) acts, such as; Diary Of Dreams and Sopor Aeternus. We want to thank 808 Haze Machine for letting us review their Proof Of Concept album. Now, we’ll conclude the review by discussing the final three sins.
