The success of Swedish new-thrash metallers The Haunted in 1998 had a "like mushrooms popping up after rain" style effect, causing similar acts to emerge like no tomorrow. So many, so alike, so empty-handed. Under two years after The Haunted debut and their ascent to limelights, thanks go to Earache Records and its subsidiary, Wicked World, who decided to bring up another band seeking for same level of recognition.

There are skills in Corporation 187, no doubt about that, but no adventuring spirit at all. This is such a typical alloy of The Haunted and thus, At The Gates, and Slayer, that it is very hard to get much enjoyment out of it, if you're not looking for this exact sound. 'Subliminal Fear' was the first of their three albums, marred with a cover that cannot jump out of multitude of computer-generated imagery that had propelled handmade artwork towards vacancy.

The riffs can be aggressive or, as it is Swedish, carry a tad of melancholy. Often fast and palm-muted, with lots of open string playing also happening. Lower riffing with higher chords, very At The Gates-ish. Guitar solos are nimble-fingered, sometimes that Slayer style mucking about. Generally, there are some riffs that stick, but mostly it is very mediocre, familiar, mundane. The drums feature some weird and sloppy fills (worst non-timing stuff is heard on the opening track), but also well enough played ones. Otherwise it's all very basic Swedish deaththrashing, with bass-snare-bass-snare or double bass drumming beats flying around. The bass guitar just does the least needed, not sticking out at all. That's the main defect of the whole musical serving here: This leaves me cold and does not stick.

The vocals are shouted, with some distortion to them. They sound similar to Darkane. While there's some growl in, I get hardcore music vibes while listening to them (slower 'Hope Is Lost' is one of more hardcorey track on offer), with s few Phil Anselmo style tricks thrown in. They are somewhat powerful, but I cannot sense anger like listening to, say, Tom Araya. The lyrics depict aggression, and living in this cold world, and therefore the vocals should pack more punch.

The guitars sound thick and turbocharged, blanketing the bass guitar. The snare drum is slapping as are the kick drums. These two are the loudest elements in the mix, even though the vocals are still audible. Overally, this sounds líke a demo, more like.

There were much better bands, which also had something of their own in their music, like Darkane, Defleshed and mighty The Crown, hailing from Sweden at the time, that bands like Corporation 187 didn't have much of a chance to stand out from the mass. With this debut album, the band managed to offer nothing new and the songs are mostly dull. Just like with The Haunted, the sophomore album also from Corporation 187 is better. This is just unremarkable.

Rating: 4½ (out of 10) ratings explained

Reviewed by Lane
11/07/2020 17:57