New Disorder - "Mind Pollution" (Art Gates Records, 2019)

Band: New Disorder
Title: Mind Pollution
Genre: Alternative Metal
Time: 41.05 min
Release Date: 15th March 2019
Rating: 75/100













Service communication:

before reading this unusual review, you have to know that, on 24th March 2019, I released my first book. It is called "Nel Segno del Marchio Nero" ("in the sign of the black mark") and is about the first wave of black metal. It's written in Italian and, if you would like to order it, here is the link.

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Believe it or not, today you have to read about an alternative metal band! But reviewing them is a great pleasure for two reasons: firstly, they comes from Rome like me; secondly, their 4th album "Mind Pollution", here reviewed, has been recently released by Art Gates Records, a long-time partner of Timpani allo Spiedo 'zine, as you know.

Let's start already with the good news for the extreme metal maniacs like me! Consisting of 10 tracks with no intro nor outro, "Mind Pollution" shows a quite aggressive form of modern and alternative metal. In fact, the extreme metal elements are especially represented by Francesco Lattes, a very expressive and versatile singer who's able to range from melodic clean vocals sometimes close to pop music (the main vocals, obviously) to growls so deep that are really incredible to find in a stuff of this kind, and there are also screams from to time (even if some of them are close to Linkin Park...). Another extreme (enough) element comes from the guitarwork since some riffs spew forth djent solutions à la Meshuggah while other ones don't hide influences from Pantera. In addition, a song such as the same "Mind Pollution" is strangely fast, at the contrary of the rest of the tracks, that are mostly composed of mid-tempos.

But it's obvious that the aforementioned aggressive features aren't a predominant part of the New Disorder's style, as you'll understand already by starting to read this review. In fact, they strongly love the melody, as it's confirmed not only by the vocals but also by the guitars. About these ones, I must say that they are embracing because there is an excellent interaction between them, so you must expect to hear not only many layered riffs but also a guitar solo per track. And as New Disorder are able to play fast parts, they pass also through really atmospheric passages, sometimes characterized by...techno music sounds! Finally, in order to close the circle about the melodic skills of New Disorder, the last song of the album, "No Place for Me", is a ballad.

To sum all this, it's natural that I can't review this album in according to the classic parameters of this 'zine. At the same time, my favorite songs of "Mind Pollution" are the most aggressive ones like the titletrack and "The Beast", along with "W.T.F. (Spreading the Hate)", that contains a fantastic guitar solo during an atmospheric part. Instead, some songs such as "Scars" aren't so effective because, after a while, they are too repetitive and, in fact, in certain cases, I would like to hear more imagination. But, in general, the mix between aggressiveness, ultra-catchy melodies and also strange influences by New Disorder works very well, in a style between Alter Bridge, Fear Factory and Linkin Park. And now, you have to know that, besides making the official videos for "Riot" and the titletrack as well a lyric video for "News from Hell", New Disorder started on 29th March in Rome their promotional tour that will touch also countries like Slovenia, Switzerland, Austria and France. Anyway, it's incredible that I cited bands like Linkin Park on these putrid pages! Should I be worried here hehe?

Tracklist:

1 - Riot
2 - News from Hell
3 - Mind Pollution
4 - W.T.F. (Spreading the Hate)
5 - Going Down
6 - Room with a View
7 - Scars
8 - Get Out
9 - The Beast
10 - No Place for Me

Line-up:

Francesco Lattes - vocals
Lorenzo Farotti - guitars
Giovanni Graziano - guitars
Ivano Adamo - bass/vocals
Luca Mancini - drums

FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/newdisorderband/
Official website: https://www.newdisorder.it
Art Gates Records: https://www.metal-archives.com/labels/Art_Gates_Records/27474