Not to Be Undimensional Conscious

I'll start off with the controversial little subject of pointing out flaws in an album that you're giving a 100% rating to, because some people think that if something has flaws, it can't be perfect. Guess they've never been in a relationship? Nah, especially in metal, sometimes the flaws are part of what makes the whole thing perfect. And yeah, let's be honest here, being an old school death metal album from 1992, and a pretty underground one at that, Not to Be Undimensional Conscious does have a pretty wonky production job. But it's not a flaw that takes away from its perfection. In fact, think about it. You need to focus really hard to hear everything the drummer is doing because the drum production is pretty damn weak, but then on the other hand, the drumming on the album is really worth focusing really hard on, so technically it's a flaw, but doesn't it really enhance the experience? Same with the vocals which probably could have used some more strength to them in the mix, but then again, do you really want them to overshadow the guitar and bass? They are fine the way they are, good vocals, but they are not meant to be the focus. So technically it's some production flaws, but they really actually enhance the experience far more than they diminish it.

And those people who have known me for a while know that I'm not usually a guy who talks about production, but the sound of the guitar and bass on this album is really pure perfection. They occupy a very similar pocket in the mix and have a very related type of very heavy tone, and the effect it creates is that they sound basically like it's one unified instrument that's played by like Prince Goro from Mortal Kombat or whatever other fictional four-armed dude you can think of. It's like the leads on the bass are part of the guitar, the rhythms on the guitar are part of the bass, it's really like some genetic mutation of a person is playing one single instrument run through the same amp and everything and it's an absolutely gorgeous sound. This is enhanced by the weird idiosyncracy of their style, with the guitar playing such simplistic groove riffs that they basically leave the realm of death metal altogether and are more like Carnivore riffs, while the bass goes completely nutso jazzy technical and basically sounds like the dude has a day job playing in Atheist or Cynic or whatever. And those two divergent styles being packed together into one single unified sound, that is just an absolute delight to listen to. In fact in the past a few people told me that they checked out albums they never heard before based on a review of mine, now this one if you've never heard it before should be at the top of that list.

Speaking of genetic mutations with four arms of course I do need to revisit the subject of the drums, because I don't know what kind of hyperactivity disorder drummer Martin Messner has, but he sure likes to keep himself busy. Very, very busy. The sheer insanity of his performance is hard to put into words, because yeah, I could throw the generic term "technical death metal" out there, and it wouldn't be wrong, but at the same time, there is such a simple groove to it. And it's also completely crazy. This album is full of beats and rhythms that really no normal person would ever think of playing, but he does, and they absolutely work perfectly. Funny how at the same time it can sound like technical death metal drumming having a nervous breakdown, yet at the same time it sounds more chill than listening to your average stoner metal album. The guy just has a gift of making ridiculously complex super relaxing grooves.

And I just love the bizarro factor of the subject matter that I don't even have the slightest clue what the album title is supposed to mean, and reading the song titles or especially the lyrics I am none the wiser. It's all basically "wait what?" in perpetuity. I mean if you're reading this review you're already here on Metal Archives anyway, so you might as well check out some of the lyrics. And once you're done, yes, I haven't the faintest clue either. And it's not some pretentious overbearing being abstract for the sake of being abstract either, you get some sort of feeling that these guys are actually trying to tell you something. Whatever that might be absolutely beats me.

Very song-based, as well. Metal Archives rightfully discourages track-by-track type of reviews because they lead to all kinds of lazy writing, but certain albums just pack a lot into individual songs. I mean, this is still perfect as a whole album experience, but they really pay attention to packing a lot into each song to make each one distinct and something you'll always remember. That bass thingy in "Perishing Passion", the opening of "Groove", that ridiculous rap part in "The Return of the Living Beat", that short bit of vocal distortion in "Idiosyncrasy", the pure feelgood chill-out mood of "Time Frame", it's all very song-based and it's an absolute delight. I don't think I can praise this album enough and that there are not enough ways to praise it.

Anyway, last but not least I wanna end on a bit of a personal note, because I talked earlier about people sometimes discovering an album based on my recommendation, and the thing is, you know my email is in my profile here, yet somehow I only ever seem to get responses based on my very negative reviews. The little thing I did on the horrifyingly terrible Barney Greenway era of Napalm Death seems to have made me a particularly large number of friends. The request I'd like to make is that if you, the reader, for some reason have never heard this album before, and you're now listening to the song "Groove" for the first time in your life, I sure wouldn't mind a little "thank you" in my inbox, hey I'm only human. And while you're at it, send another one to the members of Disharmonic Orchestra, because thank you Martin Messner, thank you Patrick Klopf, thank you Herwig Zamernik, I am privileged to live in a world in which Not to Be Undimensional Conscious exists, the world is a better place for this album's existence. Thank you guys from the bottom of my heart for writing and recording this album and for adding it to all our lives as a little extra bright spot in our lives that we otherwise wouldn't have had. Thank you!

Austria's Disharmonic Orchestra were a peripheral metal artist of sorts. They hinted at transcending the strict genre demarcations of extreme metal with their debut ‘Expositionsprophylaxe’ (1990), leading commentators to resort to calling them avant-garde grindcore. Their second LP ‘Not to be Undimensional Conscious’ (1992) is an idiosyncratic surrealist extreme metal masterpiece. In the most general terms this is Europe’s answer to ‘Unquestionable Presence’. It lacks the bouncy positive energy of Atheist’s classic of American death metal, instead blending complex death metal with an aura of paranoia, oppression, and surrealism. Despite the dynamic grooves that weave their way throughout, this is a grim album.

The guitars work their way through off-kilter chord progressions and unexpected melodies; all set to a wash of time signatures not often heard in metal. This is given additional texture owing to the use of the Swedish buzzsaw guitar tone. Bass cuts through this unsettling haze with intricate jazzy fingerpicked lines. Drums utilise many different techniques, some borrowed from jazz, others from more conventional metal influences. But there is an underlying groove that lends a unique pace to the album, one that seems to operate on a different perception of time, like watching the ebb and flow of a ballet in slow motion.

The result makes for a disorientating listen, one that remains unique within extreme metal. It comes across as a fuzzy fever dream of half formed philosophies, vague suspicions about the true nature of reality. Although the vocals are of the Petrov of Entombed variety of death metal, the album on the whole is more oppressive than it is aggressive. Confusing the listener with its constantly evolving key changes and left of centre chord progressions. A truly bizarre feat in surrealist metal.

In terms of quality and originality, this work is up there in the cannon of classic early 1990s extreme metal. But it would prove to be a bit too weird and interesting to gain the following of an Obituary or Entombed. Maybe not being part of these world famous scenes was another hindrance. However, it is retrospectively gaining newfound respect within the underground, and would prove to be highly influential for metal that dares. More importantly its inimitable approach to death metal was not built upon novelty, it seems to flow naturally out of the music as a by-product. Which on a personal level somehow makes it all the more unsettling, like looking at an intangibly deformed familiar face. If we could have more Disharmonic Orchestra influences and less Opeth and Tool the world of progressive metal would be a more…progressive place by now. Like a mental state that requires intense meditation to reach, it never fails to disturb and mesmerise in equal measure.

Originally published at Hate Meditations

When this came out it was an enormous step forward compared to their original but grinding death metal debut “Expositionsprophylaxe”. Not only were there less but lengthier songs but also the production and artwork was quite different. Not to mention the music…

If one knows their next album “Pleasuredome” by heart as well as their earliest stuff it is now easy to look back and see how “Not to be Undimensional Conscious” perfectly fills the gap between these two rather different styles of metal.

Martin Messner still is an animal on drums. He’s the European answer to Dennis The Menace (Macabre) and on this album he is most notible for his work on “Perishing Passion” and “Mind Seduction”. No words to describe this. Some of the most innovative work on death metal ever in 1992.

Patrick Klopf still uses his grunt here giving the music the death metal edge. Same goes for some of the riffs. Most riffs however are non-death metal and have that melancholic avant garde touch to them that would really start to flourish on their Pleasuredome album. Only one song on the album refers to their earlier death metal days. Coincidentally the song is actually a re-recorded demosong with a new funky rap section in the middle. “The Return of the Living Beat” used to be “Putrid Stench” on their split LP with Pungent Stench. Funny addition though.

Other highlights include “Addicted Seas of Missing Pleasure” and the rather catchy “Idiosyncrasy” on which Martin Messner perfectly fills the gaps between Patrick’s simple riffs. Also memorable if the performance of Herwig on bass. More than adequate, more than basic yet never too much.

There is however a reason this album is not my favorite Disharmonic release. First of all a lot of songs are an enjoyable musical journey but lack some catchiness at times to remain stuck in my head as being Disharmonic classics. The album is more of a 35 minute long trip with some excesses.

Secondly the production. I do like some of the work Skogsberg has done for the early wave of Swedish death metal but this kind of sound is just too sloppy for the genius creations from this Austrian threesome. Especially what he has done to the guitar tone makes the music suffer. Songs sound a bit too blurry at certain points and this damages the intensity and some speed feels lost. The bassguitar however sounds pretty good.

A very original album in 1992 and actually still an entity on its own 16 years later. A remarkable achievement.

Well, I'm very surprised on the band's material, they're really good! This is the only stuff I could get living in Brazil, but my "quest" for their material began when I was researching Pungent Stench and I saw a Split in their discography, and it was with Disharmonic Orchestra.

Then, I got to know the band, and after some research I've discovered the band's purpose on Music. For whoever likes good technical music, it's worth listening to Disharmonic Orchestra. The guitars are great, they fit the songs with ideas never seen in any other bands. The bass puts a touch in the band cause it is the most explored instrument in terms of technical inovation in this CD. It is always in the most creative rithym, but it does not lose it's feeling and melodic sense. The vocals are ok, nothing splendid, but good. The drums are stravagant(lol, it's the only way to describe them!): you know all the drums lines that sound cool but are veeery difficult to put in songs with other instruments? Yeah, they are all in this piece of masterwork!

The lyrics are cool, but very surreal, it's really hard to interpretate them, and even then, there are infinite ways to look at them.

The main stuff about the band is the capacity of playing all the technical part without losing the sense of music for itself. It is actually GOOD to listen to Disharmonic Orchestra, not only because of the splendid technical stuff but because of the music, that sounds good.

The 10% I've taken out of this review are for two main reasons:

1) The album is good and etc, but they really could have used better production, cause sometimes things sound very badly, due to the other instruments over it... And when it's in the climax of the songs, you wait that "turnaround", but what you hear is screams with guitars, bass and drums, but you cannot hear what they're playing... So, you can't get to drain the feeling from the song.

2) The songs are beatyful, but they are not as catchy as they could be. I mean, in THE RETURN OF THE LIVING BEAT you get to hear catchy stuff... And it's genial the funky swing stuff they've put there, inside the song... But in the other songs, an element like this "suprise" stuff, which makes of the song something more "remarkable", is missing.

The highlight of the album is THE RETURN OF THE LIVING BEAT... I've never heard something like that before... It gets to be even funny lol ::)