60%
Twelve Tribes—The Rebirth of Tragedy (2004)
Details
Recorded in January 2004 at Trax East. Engineered and mixed by Eric Rachel. Produced by Eric Rachel and Twelve Tribes. Additional engineering by Eric Kvortek. Mastered by Alan Douches at West West Side Music.
Band
- Adam Jackson—Vocals
- Kevin Schindel—Guitar and vocals
- Andrew Corpus—Guitar
- Matt Tackett—Bass
- Shane Shook—Drums
Tracks
- Post replica
- Baboon music
- Translation of fixes
- Venus complex
- Backburner
- Chroma
- The train bridge
- Godshaped war
- Luma
- Flight of the pathogen
Review
Twelve Tribes were a metalcore band from Dayton, Ohio. The Rebirth of Tragedy (2004) was their second album, and third release after 2000’s Instruments EP.
Their sound is very much metalcore (metal fused with hardcore punk) with more than a handful of other influences thrown in for good measure, not least of all Rage Against the Machine.
The album opens with “Post repulica” (track 1) a twisting riff that soon opens up to a metalcore shout-fest. This is the thing that I really can’t connect with easily in metalcore: the incessant shouting. But it’s not that I can’t stand shouting in music, it’s this particular style of shouting.
But the riffs are good. “Baboon music” (track 2) has a storming riff: fat and bouncing. But by track 3, “Translation of fixes”, I’m beginning to wonder if Twelve Tribes are simply recycling the same riff again and again.
Track 4, “Venus complex”. Nope: different riff. Plus some exotic scales.
The rest of the album is in a similar vein. Fairly generic metalcore riffs with the kind of screamed vocals that I just don’t connect with. “Godshaped war” (track 8) feels like the mirror reflection of “Venus complex”; Penultimate track “Luma” (track 9) is perhaps the most melodic on the album, and turns out to be my favourite.
Conclusion
With my appreciation of good ole new wave of American heavy metal and hardcore, you would think that metalcore would be right up my street. So would I, but oddly it’s not.
Sadly, then, this album didn’t really resonate with me. Sorry guys, I tried and wanted to enjoy it more than I did.
Review score: 60%