Review : DEVOLVED – “Calculated”

Devolved – Calculated
released February 9, 2010 on Unique Leader Records

Maybe it was just coincidence that Unique Leader released two similarly-named bands at the same time (Arkaik and Devolved), or perhaps it was like this album’s name: calculated. Devolved certainly lives up to their title in various definitions.

They mostly regress to a stale Fear Factory clone, with a dry, mechanical delivery. Say what you will about Burton C. Bell and his use of clean vocals, the giant step that band took on Mechanize shows how you can amplify the brutality, while not losing grasp of melody. At the very least, vocalist Kyle Zemanek could mix it up a bit. Give us inflections or something! And guys, remember: when everything is heavy, nothing is heavy.

The cover of Metallica‘s “Battery” does less to save the album, but rather demonstrates unrealized sonic and structural potential. Further, the remix of “Vex” that concludes could not be more clearly marked with ‘DON’T CARE’. I had my suspicions to begin with – what with the unmemorable artwork and ‘warnings’ smattered through the layout – but honestly, this vitriolic industrial cyberthrash would have sounded passé in the 90s. Someone once told me that Australia feels a decade or two behind, but this is ridiculous. Devolved‘s Calculated is technically a 2004 re-release, though, and maybe emigration to the USA will help develop their forthcoming third album, which has been in the works since 2008.

FCC OK
Try 1, 3, 12

01. Fractured
02. Hybrid
03. Vex
04. Derivative
05. Synergy
06. Catatonic Ruin
07. Biotics
08. Impute
09. Assimilate
10. Icon
11. Depth Perception
12. Battery
13. Vex (Mass Confusion Remix)

Rating : 1.5/5