Band
Apiary
Title
Lost In Focus
Type
LP/EP
Company
Metal Blade
YOR
2006
Style
Metalcore/Hardcore
Popular Reviews
Shows off a thick, groove based sound
Apiary - Lost In Focus - 2006 - Metal Blade
Track Listing1. Pain Is The Reason 2. Descent 3. Extract 4. Omnipresence 5. Intervention 6. Bliss In Vain 7. Forced To Breathe 8. Lustrum 9. Peril's Divinity 10. Solidified Foundation 11. Fading Imprint 12. These Walls Are Permanent 13. Finding A Way Back |
Apiary is a five-piece from the South Bay of California. The idea was to have Peter Layman and Mike McClatchey merge their unique guitar styles into one sound. The band signed to Metal Blade records after playing gigs with the likes of Machine Head, Lamb Of God, Unearth, God Forbid, and The Black Dahlia Murder. The label recently has picked up other similar bands in the style of New Wave Of American Heavy Metal and Apiary fits well with the recent scheme of sounds.
"Lost In Focus" is the band's debut record and one that shows off a thick, groove based sound that isn't a far cry from the factory settings of Fear Factory and Skinlab. While those bands may seem a bit dated to old fans, it will still impress those new faces that are just starting to hear that commercial sound. The group's wall of sound theory is embedded deep in an industrial park, almost sounding like metal on metal, scraping the bare bone structure in a quest to be the most abrasive sound around. Those of you looking for more melodic injections and today's "screamo" sound will not find it here, with Apiary simply churning groove riffs into long, rather monotonous beatings. Songwriting is riddled with negative energy, really making this just about the most irritating album of the year for me personally. It still amazes me to this day that we have so many great unsigned bands out there with fantastic vocals and positive energy, yet Metal Blade signs "talent" like this.
Bottom Line - For abrasive ears! Recommended for fans of Fear Factory, Skinlab, Glass Casket, and Hatebreed.
--EC 08.10.06