UK melodic tech-metalers, Subversion, is certainly not short on excessively over-the-top performances on its sophomore release, Animi. However, the album’s ten ridiculously-digitized-yet-melodic and overproduced tracks are all over the map, lacking any kind of direction. CD-opener “Born Of The Sun”, with its pulsating synth instrumentation and djenty, down-tuned staccato riffing, mostly creates a noisy distraction. Not to mention the vocals are nothing to write home about. Throughout the album, the main guttural screamo vocals from frontman Jay Shields are combined with guitarist Kai Giritli’s manufactured clean vocals. Every track is littered with disjointed rhythms, stuttered riffing, choppy instrumentation, annoying samples and mechanized syncopation — creating a clusterfuck of sounds.

There’s just too much going on within each track that it’s hard to wrap your head around any of them. However, some of the shorter tracks that grace the album, such as “Illusion Of Eternity” and “Pariah” create a sci-fi/fantasy atmosphere and work really well. “Novation”, the longest track on the record at 6:34, shows potential with its passionate vocal harmonies but is still cluttered with too many elements. CD-closer “Animi” displays some spacey atmospheric samples at the beginning, yet it harbors a homogenized, manufactured and unoriginal sound. However, a nice melodic guitar picking segment at the 1:43 mark adds variation to an otherwise unimpressive song and a close to an unsettling 44 minutes. Although there are plenty of energetic moments, Animi lacks memorability, making the repeat factor next to nothing. However, I’m confident that fans of Periphery, Meshuggah, Mnemic and modern metalcore/djent in general will probably dig it.