It's always pleasant news when you hear that a band who has been around for awhile is releasing a new album, and refuses to retire. Even if their discography consists of minimal releases, it's a passion for metal, rarely seen in other genres. Ion Dissonance is one for those bands that has been around since 2001. They have only four full-lengths to their name since their inception, but the release of Cast the First Stone is evidence that the dormant band is still following their passion, even if it means delaying the release for six years.
I was first introduced to Ion Dissonance with the release of Solace in 2005. I was drawn to their more mathcore sound that had little competition at that time. Much of the draw during this phase was the technical structures, fast changing riffs, and chaotic but still tangible sense of flow. The beauty of their newest release is cast in the same mold. Production is better, songs are unique, but time has narrowed the band's perspective to really own their sound and confidently present it.
With that being said, it remains one of the only positives characteristics coming forth. If you're a big fan of the band, this album will no doubt rank among one of their best releases to date, but the attributes that draw away from the overall experience outweigh their progress and brand they have been establishing so far.
The largest negative for me is the lyrics. With time, Ion Dissonance has gotten cleaner sounding shouts/screams. They still reflect the more hardcore chants and shouts that were familiar from past releases, they are just more audible and deciphered extremely easy. Typically, this proves a more talented vocalist behind the microphone, but in this case, the lyrics subtract major credit from the entire album. Cringe riddled lyrics are extremely clichéd and are heavily used. It's not welcoming, even if the band's focus was to aim for it. It takes away the potential depth in the music that the more clever entertaining musical parts bring. Here are some examples: "The truth will set you free", "I'm over you", " I can hear the voices in my head", "I don't care anymore". There is also a classy moment where there is a background chant that says, "fuck you" which quickly is followed by a laughable pause for breakdown, where someone says, "jump". This bro-core vibe really turns me off from the album, as it's inescapable, and something cheesy is in almost every song.
It's a shame I am letting something so trivial as lyrics turn me away from this album, as I typically don't allow lyrical contact to carry so much weight in my evaluation of albums. In this case though, it's bad enough that the album is wholly tainted by it. The redeeming values are the instrumentation, the writing, and overall feel. It's a solid Ion Dissonance creation. Maybe I have been out of touch with this type of metal for a while, and I don't get it. This may be possible, and in this case, just not for me.
Score: 5.5/10
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