.bipolar.
Seven
(Self-Release)
Like a down-tuned mix of My Ruin and Otep, we have .bipolar. here from Las Vegas. Seven is actually their seventh release, even though I’ve never actually heard the first six of them and can’t compare and contrast with this album unfortunately. Apparently these guys scored a few award nominations and were considered the best metal band according to the Sacramento News back in 2004. According to the information I have, the goal for this EP was to take the band in a much different and more technical direction than previous releases, which I’m just not hearing, oddly enough. Try as they might, guitarists Kevin Lemus and and Jaisen Hinds coupled with Chris Kmit on bass and Brian on drums don’t really seem to stand out very much in the four tracks that I heard. Much of the record consisted of the same down-tuned landscapes that sit somewhere between Nu-Metal, groove and hardcore. In all honesty, it wasn’t the band that did anything at all for me – it was the frontwoman Charlie and her ability to pound me into the ground with her impressive vocal firepower, and then softly and sweetly transform into a spectacular siren of passion and ability. But mostly the listener will be getting a right flogging and it feels like Charlie wants to break something on this record, and by that I mean a whole lot of various things. She’s pissed, she’s loud and she’s definitely angry. If you have something that you’re furious about (and judging by current events, many here in the states do feel that way right now) then this is the kind of music you will want to play to relieve yourself of that anger and frustration. It feels like Charlie has put in decades worth of her own anger and frustration into this very short piece, (it’s only about seventeen minutes in length) with undoubtedly more to come with the passing of time. Without a doubt, you’ll definitely feel this album as soon as your put it in and not a second later.
As I said, the musicality here is a little lacking and feels very toned down with heavy grooves and no real sense of melody, rhyme or reason. There are a few sections here and there that stand out among the thick bouts of groove, but it’s much too simplistic for my personal tastes. That isn’t to say that you will feel the same about it, but it is definitely not in my normal wheelhouse of music, despite my love for the early Nu-Metal scene and it’s groove-heavy nature. The comparisons to My Ruin and Otep definitely fit, and if you’re a fan of either of those acts, then you’ll find something to like here. .bipolar. sounds like an angry vagina with teeth that clamps down hard on any hand that attempts to grab it. The music they’ve made here almost sounds like an anthem that will certainly empower women who feel that they are being neglected by current times and most notably changes in the ruling power system. Seven is absolutely not a happy album and it means to present that quick, fast and in a hurry. Be careful folks, because this one bites.
