Maximum Metal Rating Legend

Hacride Deviant Current Signal Company: Listenable Records Release: 2005 Reviewer: Grim Gaijin Rating: 4

For quite some time now, France has been giving us some pretty good extreme metal bands. There is Anorexia Nervosa, the symphonic black metal band that has given us a handful of sinful melodies. There is Blut Aus Nord (one of my favorites), that has delivered some of the most sinister and awkward black metal for nearly 15 years now. Then there is Gojira, the phenomenal death metal quartet that has the metal world buzzing. Now, out of the ashes of Poitiers, France, comes Hacride - a progressive death metal band that will surely catch the ears of fans of Meshuggah, Morbid Angel, Lamb of God, and just about anything in between. In 2005, Hacride unleashed their debut, Deviant Current Signal - an album full of massive riffs, polyrhythmic patterns, catchy song structures, along with plenty of speed and aggression.

Right out of the gate, Human Monster blazes through like Lamb of God on speed, then morphs into a dizzying display of crushing riffs and crazy time changes. With a lot to prove, Hacride presents their complete arsenal during the first 4 minutes of the album. Next comes Typo, a slower tune that jams like Mudvayne but with a sense of emergency as the song intensifies to a full-on adrenaline rush. The third song, This Place, is another speedy cut that has several Dry Kill Logic moments. However, while Samuel Bourreau continues to kill his throat, the rest of the band pulsates into polyrhythmic hell, then bleeds into a melodic chorus before repeating the cycle. The fourth song, Polarity, starts with machine gun-like double bass patterns then adds in some clean guitar sounds, that turns into a riff that would have Trey Azagthoth (Morbid Angel) do a double take. This short two minute instrumental leads into Flesh Lives On, a Meshuggah heavy piece with influences from the late, great Dimebag Darrell (RIP)! The next song, Protect, could be a Lamb of God track, if it weren’t for the beyond-sick vocals, blast beats in the middle of the song, and the jazzy clean guitars toward the end. This is definitely one of the best tracks on the disc. The seventh song, Cold, is exactly that - cold, misanthropic, and full of time changes and influences. One minute, you can hear Voivod, the next you'll hear a little Vader. The album closer, Down, could pass as a Lamb of God/A Life Once Lost hybrid, albeit more complex. The vocals seem to be more hardcore laden on this track, but no less intense then all the previous tracks.

Although Hacride has already unleashed their latest masterpiece, Amoeba, earlier this year, Deviant Current Signal is still very worthy of a purchase. Hacride should be proud of themselves for creating such an excellent debut CD. Full of classic and modern influences, this is the CD that started the successful journey for Hacride, as they will probably be around for a very long time.