-=RNS Robot=-

Conspiracy of Thought
Nothing More Than Light
Youngside Records
17 tracks / 49:28
www.jointheconspiracy.com

Conspiracy of Thought somehow manage to buy a heavy industrial rock band while at the same time exploring pop sensibilities… and it works. They tone the GUITAR ATTACK BLAM down in favor of programming and non-shred-your-face-off production… somehow it’s still intense and rocking. They write heavily political, left of center lyrics but don’t come across as mental midgets, ignorant boobs or lunatics… and if the group’s record label and recent performance at Cornerstone is any indication, some or all of the band members may be believers. Isn’t it a requirement for Christian artists to be republicans or something?

On Nothing More Than Light, the California-based group certainly draws from the industrial/electronic rock genres while successfully accomplishing the difficult: making their sound theirs. The title track is heavy on strings and and orchestration, without sounding anything like Evanescence (THANK GOD). There is passion and intensity, but also groove and even funk — you could dance to some of this stuff, not just kick the shit out of the guy next to you in the pit. The vocals are POWERFUL, frontman Ben Stewart showcasing a fantastic voice; controlled and dynamic, yet retaining a raw quality. The production is clear and the mix is nearly perfect, allowing some dynamic space while not pushing any one channel too high or low in the mix. The approach is to the project’s benefit, because Nothing More Than Light sounds better than some major label releases I’ve heard recently. The group’s lyrics are primarily political, focusing on social justice and human rights issues (I’m guessing they weren’t fans of the previous administration), but CoT frame much of the issues through a personal lens, offering up a few more introspective tracks to balance the blow. One of the most intriguing tracks is “Genome,” which deals with similar subject matter to the excellent sci-fi flick Gattaca.

Thought-provoking, intelligent, hard-rocking, sonically dynamic and deep; with Nothing More Than Light, Conspiracy of Thought may have delivered one of the best independent records of 2009. I might be willing to join this conspiracy.

Tags: 2009 Releases, Conspiracy of Thought, Youngside Records

This entry was posted on Friday, December 18th, 2009 at 3:28 PM and is filed under REVIEWS. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.