### Alarum: Natural causes

#### 05/12/11 || revenant

At fucking last. Seven years at has taken, but finally Alarum have released their third album, “Natural Causes”. I always hate it when bands take long lay offs between albums. For some reason it always leads to high expectation when the new album is finally released, as though it was scientifically proven more time spent on an album equals better quality. Of course as I’ve grown older I’ve learnt that the equation is bullshit, either you’ve got it or you don’t, and if you don’t then it doesn’t matter how long you spend making the album. The good news, in the case of Alarum, is they’ve got it.

Now for those readers who this review is an introduction to Alarum, let me drop a little history down. Alarum are an Aussie band who built up a lot of expectation and excitement in the metal community back in the early 2000’s. Their sound was a technical, proggy jazz infused one that drew influence from Cynic, Atheist and Death. Add in they also were known to play Death covers at concerts and, yeah, you probably guessed what everyone was hoping for. “Eventuality…”, the band’s second release, was then met with mixed reactions upon it’s release. Some adored it for it’s brazen technicality, others lamented it wasn’t what they’d hoped for. Me? I’d missed all the talk, I just saw them at a gig and liked what I heard.

So now here we are in 2011 and the long awaited third album is here. Guess what folks? They’re still not the next Death. In fact, they’ve moved away from that sound rather than closer. The Cynic influence is still very recognisable, but Alarum add a little thrashy influence in the mix. So what genre do we classify Alarum under? Try “progressive/tech death/thrash/jazz fusion”. Yeah, that’s a bit of a mouthful. Really what you’re getting on this album feels like freeform jazz, metalled up with thrashy riffs, odd signature changes, plus heaps of technicality and progression. The “tech death” tag might be a little misleading. Stylistically it’s there, but one thing this album isn’t is brutal.

One thing that needs to be understood before embarking into the listening world of Alarum is that this band crams a lot of ideas into this album. I mentioned “freeform” above, but never does it feel uncontrolled or unplanned. I mentioned technical above, but never does it enter into the self serving musical masturbation territory. It’s also extremely experimental, try on violins and cowbells at the same time. Yes really. There’s classical flamenco guitar playing even. Yet somehow none of these ideas fit out of place and Alarum always makes it work.

One negative I do have to raise, and it was an issue with their previous release as well, is the vocals. They just don’t cut it. Granted here they are less annoying than on “Eventuality…”, perhaps because they have been toned back to allow for more musical experimentation, but they are still not great.

Overall though this album is a great listening experience. I often find when listening to music that there’s always a tune out period. Whether it be from a weaker song or just sameness within an album, CDs don’t always hold my attention 100% through unless they are incredibly good. This album holds my attention. The random time shifts, experimentations, etc constantly engage and challenge the mind, making this not a brilliant album, but an incredibly engaging one. Granted not everyone’s going to dig this, but if you’re a fan of Alarum’s previous work or you’re just looking for something a bit left of centre, then this album is a great get.

- Information
- Released: 2011
- Label: Willowtip Records
- Website: www.alarum.com
- Band
- Mark Palfreyman: vocals, bass
- Ryan Williams: guitars
- John Sanders: guitars
- Rob Brens: drums

- Tracklist
- 01. Natural Causes
- 02. Shifting Skies Like Nothing
- 03. For New Creation
- 04. The Signal
- 05. Evspañol
- 06. Non-Linear Parallels
- 07. Silent Betrayal
- 08. Interface
- 09. Boundless Intent Part 3
- 10. Sensory Endeavour
- 11. Transpiration
- 12. Undivided