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*Comments:

1.  Facing Tomorrow
2.  Denial
3.  Flood River Blood
4.  Voyage of Discovery
5.  In Silence with my Scars
6.  My Fallen
7.  Destroyer of Bloodlines
8.  Wayward Soul
9.  The Bottom Deep
10.  In Union We Stand
       (Overkill Cover)

Total playing time:  60:15

Release Date: July 22, 2011
Label: Nuclear Blast Records

Communic - The Bottom Deep

Reviewer: Peter

January 7, 2012

It wasn’t long ago that Norway’s Communic was on the verge of a breakthrough, with two solid albums in Conspiracy in Mind and Waves of Visual Decay, with an appearance at ProgPower USA in 2007 to boot.  Since then, they released Payment of Existence, which while it had its moments, was also forgotten within months.  With their latest album The Bottom Deep, Communic hopes to get some of the momentum back that they lost with the last album.

In Communic’s existence, the one band that they have drawn comparisons to has been Nevermore, and one can accuse them of blatant Nevermore worship on the first two albums, in particular.  With The Bottom Deep, that influence is losing its grip somewhat on Communic, and as a result, the album has a more transitional feel to it as they are trying to find their own sound.  Vocalist Oddleif Stensland has come along fairly well from the beginning, when he sounded like a Norwegian clone of Warrel Dane.  His vocals are still a work in progress, as evidenced in songs such as “Facing Tomorrow” and “My Fallen,” but the talent is still there, and the potential is there for something special.  The music itself is also still trying to find its own voice, and on songs such as “Wayward Soul,” there are instances where Communic finds its way.  For the most part, however, it still has a ways to go before it can be considered in the upper echelon of metal music.  The biggest thing that hampers The Bottom Deep is songwriting, as in the songs don’t connect with the listener on even the third or fourth listen. 

Communic seems intent on distancing itself from the Nevermore comparisons, and in the process, are discovering that it is no easy task.  The Bottom Deep is the first step in that direction, and though there isn’t much to gain from it, there is also some talent on the music front that suggests they will find their own way eventually.  For now, Communic is a project in progress and based on The Bottom Deep, a likely long-term project.