YOUNIQUE
| TRACK LISTING 1. "Not With Me" - 3:37 2. "God's Funeral" - 8:10 3. "Nothing" - 9:32 4. "Think" - 4:05 5. "Stop" - 6:12 6. "Be Mine" - 5:09 7. "Amok" - 4:29 8. "Free Minded" - 6:03 9. "Detect : Myself" - 7:24 10. "This Promise" - 5:04 1998 Modern Music Records |
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| PREVIOUS RELEASES: Superior - Behind (1996) |
RELATED RELEASES [IN SOUND]: Reading Zero - The Actual Damn the Machine - Damn the Machine |
| Superior is another German progressive metal band. But unlike their fellow countrymen Vanden Plas, Superior's brand of prog metal is more along the lines of American prog bands Damn the Machine and Reading Zero. Younique is Superior's second album and it is a good one... |
| 1. "Not With Me" - Vocal
distortions coupled with some interesting special effects give this song an industrial
metal-like feel. The guitars, as always, are powerful. 2. "God's Funeral" - More crunchy guitars that vaguely remind me of Dream Theater at their heaviest. The vocal melodies are clearly in the Reading Zero/Damn the Machine vein but, in my opinion, better. This is a driving, rhythm-heavy song. 3. "Nothing" - This is one of the most interesting and complex songs I've ever heard. Quiet piano starts us off and piano interludes break up the song as it goes along. This is an extremely difficult song to describe and perhaps it isn't as heavy as the rest of the songs on this album. But that's okay. If progressive music is more about unusual song structures and innovative songwriting rather than technical excess (and that is what prog SHOULD be about), "Nothing" nails it. Great song! 4. "Think" - Another driving, heavy song. What, you want more than that? Okay, female backing vocals are present, too. Excellent tune. 5. "Stop" - More interesting rhythm effects. The song starts off in a slow and creepy vein but explodes in a fury of heavy guitars and back and forth it goes. Cool song with a industrial metal sound to it. 6. "Be Mine" - A deep, emotional "softer" song is this. And that's cool. Makes for a darn, good song. 7. "Amok" - This song cries "don't screw with me" from the outset. Heavy, powerful and dark, this is an awesome song. 8. "Free Minded" - The keyboards give us a Middle Eastern-type sound at the beginning. The song soon turns into an industrial metal/funk metal/jazz hybrid--this is a weird song! Maybe like something the band Faith No More would come up with. Again, the guitars are plenty heavy even though this song is a bit too "free minded" for me. 9. "Detect : Myself" - This song starts off with an "easy listening" thing going for it but soon heavy guitars greet the listener and everything is cool, if a bit strange. 10. "This Promise" - Listening to this song brings Queensryche to mind -- kinda, sorta. Think "Silent Lucidity" if you must have a comparison but that isn't totally accurate. Nonetheless, this is a good, easygoing song. |
| The lineup of Superior is like that of Shadow Gallery: You have a
guitarist (Bernd Basmer), a vocalist (Michael Tangermann), a bassist (Martin Reichart), a
drummer (Thomas Mayer), a keyboardist (Jan-Marco Becker) and Michael Muller, who doubles
as a second guitarist and a second keyboardist. Cool, eh? Michael Tangermann is quite a
talented vocalist, if a bit unusual. His style is difficult to describe but it adds to the
uniqueness that is Superior. One of the more interesting things about Superior is their diverse musical tastes. This is a band whose various members list everyone from Korn, Faith No More, Sting, Metallica, Queensryche, Van Halen, Toto, Kiss and the Black Crowes as their favorite bands/artists. Maybe that accounts for Superior's unique sound. Whatever the case may be, Superior is pushing the boundaries of progressive metal like few bands within the genre. Rating: 9.0 |
