REVIEWS OF VIOLUTION (CD 2007)

VAMPIRE MAGAZINE

“VioLution” is the final chapter in a trilogy based on the “deconstruction and transformation of Earth” that started back in 2003 with their acclaimed though surprisingly little known debut full length “NonAnthropogenic”.  Continuing in a much more developed form with 2005’s superb “SoulSaviour” it was clear that Norwegian industrial death metallers V:28 were onto something very special, welding together an apocalyptic atmosphere with balls-to-the-wall industrialized brutality to truly mesmerizing heights.

Three years on and “VioLution”, subtitled “…Choking On Black Liquid Death…”, shows an even bigger development in their sound explorations, letting go to an enormous backdrop of great dark ambient/industrial with a metallic forefront that will appeal to all black, death and doom fans alike.  Eerie and unsettling to the max, V:28 conjure a rabid soundscape that sits somewhere between the more experimental tendencies of latter day Ulver and the brooding mechanical darkness of Red Harvest, although this most certainly has a quality that is entirely their own.  Opener proper “Shut It Down” is a crushing black/death metal blitzkrieg that hits hard and hits fast, while the stunning “The Absolute” takes you floating through an epic and discordant mountainside landscape, which thanks in part to the distinctive guest vocals from Garm (Ulver), proves to be the definitive song on this disk.  

Continuing consistently on this same path with the likes of “Pattern Of The Weak” and “World Wide Bombing Day”, right through to the mammoth grand finale “When Entropy Decreases”, V:28 have really hit the mark with this release.  Let down only by the somewhat flat production, “VioLution” is quite simply another soaring example of the seemingly endless amount of talent currently pouring out of the freezing North.  Long may it continue…  

NORDIC VISION MAGAZINE

This one here...is just beyond words nice. I got a bit interested after the first listen, and since then it´s just a river of sound and fine compositions coming towards me. This is their third and final album in a concept, but I haven´t heard their previous work so I cannot compare it. And when it comes to comparison, V:28 can´t be compared with any other band. The melodies, the great variation in the vocals, who ranges from grim to normal, that special guitar sound that is just phenomenal, and that very special aura in their sound. Hard to describe, but awesome when it´s being played. V:28 have put together an album that is phenomenal. The material, which is greatly diverse, is put together in such a brilliant way there´s really no border between the different forms of expression. And again a band on Vendlus that knows how to appreciate the small details in the music, which further strengthens the final work. This was my favourite surprise of 2007, and an album that continue to improve every time I play this. And what about "Desert Generator"...a song for worship and closed eyes. Fantastic!

VAMPSTER

Mission accomplished. V:28 sind inzwischen Geschichte. Sie haben ihre Idee in die Tat umgesetzt, nun gibt es nichts mehr für sie zu tun. Das klingt nach dem Abgesang eines Superhelden in einem schlechten B-Movie. Tatsächlich waren V:28 als eine Band konzipiert, die drei Alben über das Ende der Menschheit und die Zerstörung des Planeten Erde darbietet. "VioLution" ist der letzte Teil dieser Trilogie und fährt als krönender Abschluss ein tödliches, pechschwarzes Brett auf. Das norwegische Trio hat sich sowohl dem Death- und Black Metal als auch dem Industrial verschrieben, ist dabei allerdings weniger verspielt und deutlich geradliniger angesiedelt als ihre Labelkollegen Havoc+Unit aber ähnlich brutal und grimmig wie ihre Landsleute RED HARVEST.

Wirklich wild und aggressiv sind V:28 aber nur stellenweise, wie im furiosen Opener "Shut it Down", zu dem es auch ein wirklich gutes Video auf der CD zu sehen gibt. "VioLution" balanciert auf einem Drahtseil zwischen modernem, extremen, meistens in unteren Geschwindigkeitsregionen angesieteltem Metal und Industrial und manchmal ist das Endergebnis leider ein wenig langatmig, wie in "Pattern of the Weak". Wo andere Bands Spannung aufbauen können, sind V:28 manchmal relativ eintönig. Das kommt aber zum Glück eher selten vor. Denn das Trio überrollt den Hörer ansonsten mit unbarmherzigem Material, das, wenn es nicht brachial ist, zumindest immer eine unheimliche Düsternis ausstrahlt, so wie das langsame und schleppende aber beeindruckende "Surrender to Oblivion". Auch "The Absolute" schlägt in diese Kerbe, wird durch den Gesangseinsatz von ULVER-Legende Kristoffer G. Rygg deutlich aufgewertet.

Auch ansonsten geben sich viele Industrial-Künstler auf diesem bösartigem Werk die Ehre: Ghost von G.G.F.H., MZ.412 und NEGRU VODA sind auf "VioLution" zu hören. Das bedeutet, dass die elektronischen Stellen nicht klingen, als wären sie auf die Musik gelegt worden, sondern sind bestens in das Material eingearbeitet. Schade, dass auch hier ein paar Längen entstehen. Zwischen metallischer Härte und elektronischer Atmosphäre wurden leider nicht immer ordentlich Spannungsbrücken geschlagen. Ansonsten sind die Songs sehr dicht arrangiert und haben zündende Riffs, sehr gut und real klingendes, programmiertes Schlagzeug als auch aggressiven, aber durchschnittlichen Gesang.

Songs wie "World Wide Bombing Day" und "Can You See the Light Now?" haben außerdem gute Hooklines parat und das abschließende "When Entropy Decreases" gipfelt in einem dramatischen Outro, das nochmals filmreif ist. Die Produktion von RED HARVEST-Keyboarder Lrz. ist brutal und drückt ordentlich und setzt das alles gut in Szene. Teil drei dieser Massenmenschenvernichtung ist beeindruckend und teilweise auch wirklich gelungen, doch mit den Ikonen und frischen Talenten der Szene können V:28 schlicht und ergreifend nicht mithalten. Dennoch ist Genre-Kennern das Reinhören empfohlen, vor allem nach der schwachen, letzten RED HARVEST-Scheibe.

SILENT SCREAM MAGAZINE
Rating: 6 / 7

Terzo lavoro per i norvegesi V:28, act dalle chiare intenzioni distruttive che per questa release ha ospitato figure del calibro di Garm e musicisti di MZ.412 e Lycia. Il suono dei V:28 è abbastanza semplicemente classificabile, entrando di diritto in quella corrente che si sta sempre più ingrossando di fan di Anaal Nathrakh ed Aborym. Suoni sincopatissimi, quindi, ritmiche serrate, voci urlate ed atmosfere opprimenti e da giorno dopo la fine del mondo. I nostri ci sanno fare, e si sente, ed è così che grazie ad un gran mestiere riescono a costruire brani molto variegati e mai noiosi, basati su frequenti cambi di tempo e di atmosfera che non lasciano mai tranquillo l’ignaro ascoltatore. La materia è quella, non si scappa, ma per lo meno i V:28 dimostrano una buona propensione ad un song-writing corposo e mai banale: insomma, non si tratta solo di triturare budella, ma anche si fermarsi a pensare al perché lo si fa… L’apporto di Garm si sente, soprattutto in alcuni brani come “The Absolute”, nei quali l’alternanza fra cori puliti e voci demoniache riesce a condurre i giochi e a creare dosi massicce di ansia. “VioLution” è in definitiva un lavoro interessante, nel quale il classico Industrial Black Metal riceve la tonificante iniezione di sonorità ed atmosfere più complesse e cerebrali, riuscendo in tal modo a dare vita ad un ibrido dalle potenzialità ancora non calcolabili ma di certo molto convincenti.

POSSESSED

Und ein weiteres Pferdchen aus dem Stalle Vendlus. Erschienen allerdings schon im Jahre 2007. Seitdem Jahre 2002 lärmen die Burschen schon herum und mit Vendlus Records hatte man von Anfang an einen guten Verbündeten, keine Frage! Hm, sehr experimentiell, sehr fortschrittlich was wie hier hören. Sieht so die Zukunft des Death Metal.VioLution ist das dritte Album und der dritte Abschnitt einer Geschichte über das Ende der Menschheit und der Verstörung des Planeten Erde. Die Mucke klingt auch passend zu den Themen. Zerstörererisch, Kalt, maschinell und misanthropisch. Samples, die kalt und düster rüberkommen, rauher Gesang, der an Black Metal Vocals erinnert , Melodien und wuchtige Riffs, die in die Black/Death Metal Ecke tendieren, alles das findet man hier. Umhüllt wird das alles von einer industriellen, maschinellen Verkühlungsprozedur. Selbst vor klaren Gesang schrecken sie nicht zurück. Wirklich stark sind sie, wenn sie die melancholischen und melodischen Riffs zocken. Dann erinnern sie ein wenig an My Dyong Bride. Das klingt cool, ansonsten nervt mich schon der industrille Touch extrem. Die eingebauten Dark Ambient Passagen kommen auch gut zutragen und vervollständigen das recht eigenständige Konzept, welches man vielleicht mit Red Harvest`s musikalischen Concept vergleichen könnte. Wer damit etwas anfangen kann, sollte bei V:28 auch keine Hemmungen haben. Schon Endzeitmusik, aber nichts für gestandene Metalheads.

PIVOTAL ALLIANCE
Rating: 4 / 5

Violution is supposed to be the final installment in some kind of trilogy about the end of humanity and the deconstruction of planet Earth. It sure sounds like it.  V:28 mix death metal with black metal, a healthy dose of doom-gloom, and a shitload of keyboards and all kinds of electronic textures. V:28 somehow blend these styles in a way in which they don’t fight each other for attention. In their world, blending electronic music, clean vocals, and black metal blast beats like they did on the song “Shut It Down” makes perfect sense. It’s as if members of Godflesh and Skinny Puppy decided to start their own black metal band.

THE PLAYLIST

I was a bit scared after listening to the first track "Exequor," thinking that this band was going to sound like a score-less horror movie, but they more than made up for it with the overly hard hitting follow up, "Shut it Down." V:28 play very, very fast death metal, almost at the speed that I would expect from a black metal band, but they have an industrial sound, which comes out slightly through keys or synths here and there. They have a lot of great parts that just rock out and sound like they are a lot of fun to play. Even though they have long songs (four over five minutes and two over seven), they make good use of their time, for the most part, and are pretty good at preventing things from getting boring.

The odd thing that V:28 add to their mix is melodic vocals. This would normally sound like a band trying to jump on a bandwagon, but V:28 are able to do just the opposite. They don't overuse the melodic vocals, and there is more than enough heavy music where the melodic vocals serves as a nice change of pace.

I really enjoy what V:28 offer up on this nine song release. They are great musicians and do a lot of things very well. They are bridging the gap between death and black metal, only with melodic vocals thrown in there as well.

SPIRIT OF METAL WEBZINE
Rating: 18 / 20

« Violution » est le denier volet d’une trilogie démarrée en 2002 par le groupe norvégien V:28, formation qui reste encore assez méconnue malgré son incroyable talent. NonAnthropogenic (2003) et SoulSaviour (2005) ont tous deux été applaudis par les critiques, « Violution » devrait logiquement subir les mêmes assauts de compliments…

Tout est original chez V:28, que ce soit le visuel, le concept ou la musique en elle-même. Les musiciens nous content l’histoire d’une certaine planète Terre anéantie par des habitants incapables de maîtriser leur intelligence, incapables d’assumer et de contrôler les conséquences de leur pulsions destructrices.
Les derniers instants de notre planète et de notre civilisation, cette idée relevait, il y a 20 ans encore, de la science-fiction, mais vu la gueule de notre monde aujourd’hui, V:28 est on ne peut plus ancré dans le présent. Ici, point de symboles religieux ou de satanisme bon marché, le démon prend la forme de l’arme nucléaire, de la pollution ou du nazisme, de la crasse humaine en fait. V:28 nous fait comprendre qu’il est stupide de courir chercher le mal où il n’est pas, l’homme incarne le mal et sera l’outil de sa propre destruction, et la machine est déjà en route. L’apocalypse est pour demain...

La musique du groupe n’est ni vraiment black métal, ni vraiment death, mais elle puise son inspiration dans chacun de ces styles pour créer un univers chaotique et dépressif totalement enivrant. Pas de batteur chez V:28, mais une programmation d’une qualité parfaite. Moi qui suis plutôt allergique aux bidouillages électroniques, j’ai plongé tête la première, dès le premier morceau, dans cet univers d’une tristesse sans fond. L’utilisation de l’électronique ne se limite pas à créer des rythmes de batterie, car des bruitages et des nappes de synthé brumeuses survolent en permanence les compos, le tout avec une limpidité imparable. Le travail fournit sur la composition et les arrangements est colossal, ce qui ne se remarque pas forcément dès la première écoute tant les titres s’enchaînent facilement et semblent s’emboîter les uns aux autres.

Les tempos sont souvent lourds, et les quelques accélérations apparaissent alors comme un défouloir temporaire, un orgasme qui précède inévitablement une nouvelle plongée dans un univers terriblement pesant et fascinant, hypnotique sur certains passages. La basse, mise en valeur par une prod’ excellente, se fraye sans problème un chemin au milieu de ces riffs tour à tour massifs, planants ou incisifs et apporte encore plus de profondeur aux chansons.
Le clip de "Shut It Down" est disponible avec le cd. En adéquation totale avec les thèmes développés, ce clip, un peu dans l’esprit de "The Wall", mélange images animées et images réelles pour un rendu aussi pessimiste que la musique. V:28 dégage une profonde violence sans pour autant miser sur la vitesse, parvenir à un tel degré d’aboutissement est assez peu courant et demande un talent et une minutie hors norme…

« Violution » est un album magistral qui n’appartient à aucune catégorie précise de métal. Véritable incarnation du mal être, V:28 puise directement sa force dans la réalité de notre monde absurde, ce qui le rend encore plus effrayant. V:28 n’aime pas la vie, V:28 ne croit pas en l’homme…
Amis suicidaires, ne mélangez surtout pas antidépresseurs et V:28, les effets seraient incontrôlables…

VIOLENT SOLUTION MAGAZINE

La vie est étrange... Il a suffit que je m'intéresse et découvre le groupe grâce à un VSeur qui avait ouvert un sondage au sujet de la discographie de ce groupe pour que je reçoive un paquet de Vendlus Records contenant, entre autres joyeusetés le nouvel album de V:28. Je ne sais pas pour vous, mais en ce qui me concerne je n'avais avant il y a peu encore jamais entendu parler de ce groupe dont le précédent album avait pourtant été kroniké en son temps dans ces mêmes colonnes par l'ami Foofur. Etre signé par un label américain ne doit certes pas beaucoup aidé à la propagation du nom de V:28 et de sa musique.

V:28 (dont le nom vous est expliqué dans l'interview qui vient conjointement à cette kronik) donne dans un mélange de black et de death qui privilégie grandement les tempos lourds et une production massive et puissante. Là-dessus vient se coller une grosse louche d'indus surtout par l'utilisation de samples et de par la volonté de vraiment poser une ambiance apocalyptique, la fin du monde étant le concept des albums de V:28 (voir également interview). On pourrait donc résumer la musique de V:28 en un mélange de SAMAEL et de EMPEROR, de KOVENANT et des derniers ENSLAVED et d'influences plus éloignées de la scène métal comme par exemple DEUTSCH NEPAL qui avait d'ailleurs participé au précédent album. Les morceaux sont variés et ont chacun leur identité propre, on passe d'un morceau puissant très typé black metal ("Shut it down") à quelque chose de plus mélodique ("The absolute") voire symphonique ("When entropy decreases"). Il demeure cependant une constante à tous ces morceaux, c'est l'ambiance sombre et oppressante qui s'en dégage inexorablement.

Comme d'habitude avec V:28 les invités sont légions (mais non, pas l'ancien chanteur de MARDUK) et pas des moindres puisque Garm himself vient poser quelques excellentes lignes de chant clair sur le titre "The absolute". Citons également le groupe d'indus suédois MZ.412 qui a composé l'intro de cet album et d'autres invités dont les contributions sont tout de même moins importantes mais néanmoins intéressantes. L'artwork quant à lui reste dans la thématique de l'affiche débutée avec la trilogie. Je le trouve cependant moins réussi que celui du précédent album.

Avec "VioLution" V:28 met donc fin à un cycle entamé avec "NonAnthropogenic" son premier album, un doute se pose donc sur l'avenir du groupe qui pourrait bien s'arrêter après cet album. Raison de plus pour s'y intéresser dès maintenant, en espérant que leur future tournée passera près de chez nous...

FIENDESLAND

Schon mal von V:28 und Vendlus Records gehört? Meine Person jedenfalls bis jetzt noch nicht. Doch bei so einem Opus, bereue ich es nicht, beide kennen gelernt zu haben ... V:28, ein 2002 gegründetes Projekt aus Arendal, Norwegen, besteht aus Kristoffer Oustad (lead and rhythm guitar and programming), Eddie Risdal (vocals and rhythm guitar) und Atle Johansen (bass and distortion). Als Gäste wirkten Garm (Ulver) sowie die Industrialexperten G.G.F.H und MZ.412 mit. Produziert wurde die Langrille von LRZ (Red Harvest).

VioLution bildet den Abschluss einer Trilogie, die das Ende der Welt und die Auslöschung der Menschheit thematisiert. Soweit so gut, doch musikalisch ist der Silberling um Längen komplexer! V:28 arbeiten mit Elementen aus Industrial, Black- und Death Metal. Ersterer macht sofort den Auftakt: 'Exequor', eine kalte maschinelle Klangcollage, eröffnet das apokalyptische Szenario. Futuristisch ambienthaft, mit gesprochenen Passagen, mutet 'Surrender to oblivion' (5.) an. Aus dem Todesblei stammen die Blast Beat Attacken und die knatternde, elektrische Double Base. An den Schwarzstahl hingegen gemahnt vor allem das fuchtig heisere Krächzen des Frontmanns, ebenso sind Spuren davon im Riffing auszumachen, vgl. 'Shut it down' (2.). Die einleitenden Gitarrensequenzen von 'Patterns of the weak' (4.) könnten von den französischen Avantgarde Black Metallern Blut aus Nord oder Reverence inspiriert worden sein... Wie die erwähnten Formationen so haben auch die Norweger mit Hochgeschwindigkeitsgebolze nicht viel am Hut. Zwar erlauben sie sich den einen oder anderen heftigen Ausbruch, doch weisen einige Stücke, wie z.B. 'Surrender to oblivion' (5.) nahezu doomige Valenz auf! Erstaunlicherweise gelingt es V:28 die verschiedenen Stile gut miteinander zu verschmelzen, die Komposition wirkt recht homogen. Bei aller thematischen und musikalischen Grimmigkeit lässt das Trio Raum für melodisch/melancholische Einschübe, welche die dunkle, beklemmende Atmosphäre des Werks merklich intensivieren. In einem solchen "ruhigeren Moment" gibt dann Ulvers Garm, mit seinem einprägsamen, klaren Gesang, ein Ständchen für die verblüfften HörerInnen (3. 'The Absolute') - und das mitten im Weltuntergang!

Ach ja, ehe ich's vergesse, als Schmankerl ist auf der CD auch noch eine audiovisuelle Umsetzung von 'Shut it down'!

PLUG IN MUSIC

If the scant biographical information included with this CD is to be believed, then V:28’s “VioLution” is a work of “industrial death metal.” Reading that little snippet you might expect to hear some amalgamation of Morbid Angel and KMFDM, most likely in German. But I call shenanigans on Vendlus Records’ description of their band. Upon careful inspection (read: listening to the album a bunch of times) I have come to the scientific conclusion that “VioLution” is actually black metal.

 Right from the get-go, we get an epic intro with drums worthy of the hordes of Mordor, and you know what that means. Sure enough, the intro gives way to “Exequor” and an ultrafast single string riff signature to black metal. “VioLution” could have easily been hammered out along the same basic template, and while there is speed picking abound, the album is refreshingly multifaceted. “Surrender to Oblivion” kicks off with a towering, plodding, doomy riff before lurching into sweet mid-paced chunk of a groove. “World Wide Bombing Day” sneaks in some slightly thrash triplets and angles, while “Can You See the Light Now?” is propelled by a precise lockstep march. The vocals are somewhere between Satan with ‘roid rage and Satan getting lightly kicked in the sac, and “The Absolute” features a cool assist from Kristoffer “Garm” Rygg of former black metallers/current experimentalists Ulver.

So I hope the notion that this is death metal is sufficiently quashed for you, my friends. Oh, and the “industrial” tag comes from the mostly unobtrusive threads of electronics glinting in the background. There is the occasional industrial booming electronic drum song break or coda, but these are infrequent enough that they don’t distract from what is a well-written and sharply executed album. “VioLution” is well-paced and varied enough so that it doesn’t break down after one listen, and holds up as an interesting black metal album. Take that, Vendlus marketing department.

METAL HUBS
Rating: 6 / 10

Considering V:28 opine about the destruction of mankind while lacing their barbaric hyper-metal with distinctive industrial influences and a mechanistic drumming sound, one might be mistaken for assuming them the second (or third, or fourth) coming of Fear Factory. Not quite.

MAELSTROM MAGAZINE
Rating: 9.5 / 10

V:28's VioLution is the epitome of apocalyptic death metal, if there ever was one.

V:28 has captured the essence of rot and the downfall of humanity; not by reducing their sound to utter noise — the sonic equivalent to physical eradication, as some artists may interpret this vision — but rather the opposite. They have inserted sickly sweet keyboards that act as the antagonists to the (seemingly) simple — and to some length also very melodic — death metal at display. However, the sum of all this: the saccharine, quirky tunes stitched into the harsher aspects of these very tunes (the black / death metal vocals; the blazing, buzzing guitars; the blasts) are what make this album tick.

Heavy on samples courtesy of personas from MZ.412 and G.G.F.H. as well as featuring Garm (Ulver, Arcturus, Borknagar) as a guest vocalist, these musicians has upgraded V:28's music into the realms of excellence.

VioLution is not a progressive album per se — nor is it remarkably innovative — however, the wise choices and delicate balance on display, between the melodic and the vitriolic; the mechanized, the industrial; and the organic and human — is what ultimately makes VioLution such a good album (all that and those monstrous riffs) and the perfect embodiment of the band's agenda.

VioLution is a manifest for man's and Earth's downfall, portrayed and executed by crafty hands and of the highest order. Imagine what Arcturus' timeless masterpiece La Masquerade Infernale would have sounded like had it been infused with some slow, ultra catchy, vitriolic and melodic death metal, sparse blasts and an extra dose of industrialization. Is VioLution that good? Not as good as the aforementioned, but almost and very much more bitter.

ECLIPSE MAGAZINE

After NonAnthropgenic and SoulSavior, V:28’s trilogy is apparently now complete with VioLution, which basically continues their industrial black-ish metal tone that still imbues a sort of modern Enslaved meets label mate Havoc Unit in a blackened industrial visage.

The thing is, it’s still just relatively uninteresting as nothing really ever ‘happens’ or peaks on the album anywhere. There are riffs, there is programming, there is robotic rasps, there are appropriate futuristic samples and warbling, beeping, buzzing interludes that all create the expected wartorn, smoke filled wasteland of a bleak psot apocalyptic wreckage, but song wise it’s a barren, lifeless landscape.

Admittedly, while more controlled and restrained than many industrial black metal acts (where the Enslaved reference comes in), the patient, building nature of the music, rarely exudes an urgency typically associated with black metal, rather relying on a more ominous and foreboding atmosphere. Even when the guitars do ‘kick in’ and a song morphs into a guitar based cacophony, such as “Shut it Down” or –its still a fairly rudimentary foray into black metal, just littered with the expected industrial , futuristic elements, and generally a more mid paced, deliberate, machine like affair.

As with the previous releases, there’s a couple of guest spots, notably from Trickster G/Garm (Arturus/Ulver/Borknagar) on the Arcturus like “The Asolute” and programming from MZ. 412 (G.G.F.H.) throughout, but none of it makes any of the tracks truly stick despite the palpable sense of despair on tracks like “Surrender to Oblivion” and fitting closer “When Entropy Decreases”. The production is also befitting the overall atmosphere with a clinical, robotic tone.

While most inudustrial black metal acts have the end of the world coming by virtue of a sudden violent catacklsm of robotic destruction, V:28 to their credit has the planet dying a slow, painful, suffocating death, and VioLution is the sound track.

SEA OF TRANQUILITY

The Norwegian industrial/death metal outfit known as V:28 returns with their latest offering Violution, which is the final installment in their end of the world trilogy which began with NonAthropogenic in 2003 and continued with 2005’s SoulSaviour, all released on Vendlus Records.

Over the course of the nine songs presented here the band do a marvelous job creating a cold, sterile musical landscape with their programmed beats and eerie keyboard work. The layers of harsh, mechanical sounding guitars and brutal raw death style vocals combined with the blast beat assault on a track like “Shut It Down” should give the average listener a good idea of what V:28 are all about. This track chugs along like a veritable war machine prepared to annihilate anything in its path. Much like they’ve done on previous releases which saw the band collaborate with members of Enslaved and Deutsch Nepal, Violution features contributions from Garm (Ulver) as well as Mike Van Portfleet from Lycia to name just a few. If you like your music heavy with plenty of variety and featuring a slightly futuristic edge to it then V:28 is certainly worth checking out.

DEADTIDE

In 2003, V:28 released ‘NonAnthropogenic’, a surprisingly well-realized debut album that introduced the scene to their fresh take on industrial metal. Now, in 2008, they have released their third album, ‘VioLution’, which concludes the three-part conceptual trilogy begun those five years ago. Galvanized by Terminator, The Matrix, and any number of other post-nuclear 80’s thrillers, the concept of a future dystopia where humanity is reduce to tribal brutality by the machines we built ourselves continues to fascinate our society on a number of levels. V:28 have blessedly proved to be much more erudite than the aforementioned popcorn entertainment, and with their trilogy present to us an unflinching portrait of the horror our future may become.

Still, although it is classified as a ‘concept album’, ‘VioLution’ is no more weighed down by plot fluff than are its predecessors. Rather, V:28 communicate the majority of their story through the atmosphere created by the music itself, which is potent enough to carry the album through the rare spots where its songwriting flags. This is a twofold blessing, consisting of what V:28 have most certainly done well, and perhaps even more so in what they have not done. (Warning: It also allows for the illustrative hyperbole seen below.) It is a perplexing habit of bands in this genre to assume that the tag ‘industrial’ mandates a surfeit of hardcore dance beats. Consequently, they use their samples and noise effects to create looping rhythms that fill the discotheques with gleeful Eurogoths who just can't wait to get their bump and grind on.

This is a fundamental error. If anything, the phrase ‘industrial metal’ suggests a vehement opposition to lust and gratification of human desire. Though not purely industrial (elements of black and death are equally present, and even some doom), V:28 are much closer to the heart of the genre than many of their peers, and demonstrate equal mastery of programming and more traditional instrumentation. The riffing is primarily tremolo-picked, sketching out riffs like geometric patterns that seem at once soullessly aloof and engaging. The percussion is programmed and doesn’t try to hide the fact, but its canned clicking is the perfect sound for the record. Moreover, all the rhythms fit easily into the context of the piece, so that the snap of the snare sounds more like the firing of a piston than the doing of some human programmer with a speed fetish (ahem, Berzerker). Lead melodies appear sporadically, provided by either guitar or a less prominent synth, and are used sparingly to great effect—punctuating a song’s motif, as a closing diminuendo, etc.

As with previous releases, V:28 have brought on some guests to help them realize their vision, with notable names including vocalist Garm (Ulver, ex-Arcturus) and programmer MZ.412. Garm’s presence is a rather obvious one (as usual), but the other cameos all blend quite naturally with V:28’s style. Some fans may be keen on hearing the exact contribution of each to the finished product, but ‘VioLution’ is better off—colder, more precise and seamless—for their relative anonymity.

Others may be disappointed by how static ‘VioLution’ feels, or how its compositions aren’t brimming with solos, danceable beats, or ‘that human touch’. Fair enough. This is an industrial metal album, after all, with the intention to portray humanity’s 11th hour, as a mechanical, militaristic future overtakes and consumes us. As such, it really shouldn’t have too much in the way of feelings, particularly at first blush.

Were ‘VioLution’ completely devoid of humanity, though, it would be difficult for us to identify with or enjoy it, and it is here that V:28 reveal their finest gift. Deep in the machinery of war, beneath its gas masks and careless treads, that human element does still linger. The fear, the rage, and wordless suffering of our race—all of them are buried away beneath the surface, dusty and pale but no less human for the hiding. With their voices and those of their guests, V:28 battle up above the swell of instruments and electronics to cry out a warning to anyone who might be listening, even as they are assimilated back into the mechanical beast they have spawned. Throughout their entire career, V:28 have brought these two forces to violent interaction, and by tracing the battle to its climax and ultimately desolate conclusion, ‘VioLution’ may be their most powerful effort yet.

NOISE.FI

Olkoonkin, että aika peruskikkoihin V:28 luottaa, on sen musiikki kuitenkin muuten enimmäkseen toimivaa eikä kappaleet ala liikaa toistaa itseään. Kuitenkin, vaikka VioLutionilla vierailee niin G.G.F.H. kuin MZ.412:kin sekä muutamia muita vähemmän kaupallista industrialia edustavia artisteja, ei V:28 lähde suorittamaan mitään suurempia sivuhyppyjä, vaan sille sana industrial tuntuu tarkoittavan enemmänkin persoonatonta liukuhihnatyöskentelyä kuin rappioituneita ja läpiruostuneita peltihalleja.

Myös soundillisesti liikutaan vähän samalla suunnalla: selkeää, mutta tavanomaista ja vähän liian elotonta äänimaisemaa on VioLutionolla tarjolla, vaikka kaikki sinänsä toimiikin hyvin eikä ärsyttävyyden rajaa ole yritetty. Kokonaiskuva on kuitenkin perustoimiva höysteineen kaikkineen, mutta jotakin jää silti puuttumaan eikä V:28 tunnu saavuttavan täyttä potentiaaliaan, vaikka läheltä liippaakin. Lopputulos vaikuttaa hieman vähemmän koneistetulta ja vähemmän kokeellisemmalta loppuaikojen ...And Oceansilta. Pieni lisäannos persoonallisuutta ei varmaankaan olisi pahitteeksi.

BEOWOLF PRODUCTIONS

V:28 is a Norwegian Industrial Death Metal band that started back in 2002. These guys have released two other records in a trilogy, with this being the final chapter. This trilogy deals with the end of humanity & the deconstruction of the planet! These guys have a very dark, errie & cold feel to their music. The music is based in Death Metal that is blended with Industrial, but has lots of injections of Black Metal all through out. The songs are a bit haunting in feel as well. The vocals are done in a cold harsh throaty Black metal type growl style. This is a great band that I see & hear a lot about, but I don't see or hear enough about this band. A band on this level should be a lot more popular than they are!!!

HATEFUL METAL

Ich bin kein Freund des modernen Metals. Aber auch ich muss mich manchmal eines besseren belehren lassen, wie in diesem Fall von der norwegischen Industrial Death Metal Gruppe V:28. VioLution ist bereits das dritte Album und damit zugleich auch das letzte Kapitel einer Trilogie, welche sich dem Ende der Menschheit und der Dekonstruktion der Erde widmet. Für den Einen oder Anderen ist es vielleicht auch interessant zu wissen, dass bei VioLution Garm von Ulver und die Industrial Gruppen G.G.F.H. und MZ.412 als Gastmusiker mitgewirkt haben.

Unter dem Stilbegriff „Industrial Death Metal“ kann man sich vermutlich alles oder nichts vorstellen. Im Falle von V:28 und VioLution jedenfalls handelt es sich dabei um modernen und extremen Metal, der mit vielerlei Zutaten aufwartet.
Obwohl V:28 gerne kraftvoll und mitreißend aufspielt, enthält die Musik eine sehr atmosphärische Komponente, welche bereits beim ersten richtigen Titel Shut it down auffällt. Denn das anfänglich sehr schnelle und brutale Spiel ist mit harmonischen elektronischen Klängen unterlegt, die nicht nur einfach atmosphärisch sind, sondern darüber hinaus auch einen düsteren und endzeitlichen Sog besitzen. Solche elektronischen Hintergrundklänge und Geräusche durchziehen das gesamte Album, wobei sie manchmal dezent und sanft sind aber auch zentral im Mittelpunkt der Musik stehen.

Es sind aber nicht nur diese modernen und elektronischen Einlagen, die für Harmonien und Atmosphäre sorgen. Mindestens genauso prägend sind die Gitarren, die je nach Spielweise und Geschwindigkeit düstere Harmonien und melancholische Melodien bilden, genau so aber auch harte, schnelle und kraftvolle Riffs schmettern. Vor allem diese Kombination und Vermischung von düsteren Gitarrenmelodien mit den harten, treibend arrangierten Riffs und den elektronischen Klängen im Hintergrund ist V:28 bestens gelungen. Die Musik entwickelt dann etwas sehr kraftvolles und vereinnahmendes, dem man sich dann nur noch schwer entziehen kann.

Besonders deutlich wird diese spielerische und atmosphärische Klasse in den drei Liedern Shut it down, World wide bombing day und Can you see the light now?. Denn alle drei Titel haben gemeinsam, dass sie sowohl schnelle, harte und zuweilen auch harsche Elemente besitzen, wie auch düster-atmosphärische und harmonische Passagen. Denn gerade dann, wenn die musikalische Härte und Aggression auf die zahlreichen harmonischen Elemente trifft, entfaltet sich die wunderbare Atmosphäre von V:28 vollends.

Ich hatte vor VioLution nicht gedacht, dass mir solch moderner Metal mit so einem hohen Anteil an Elektroklängen so gut gefallen könnte. VioLution konnte mich jedenfalls vollends überzeugen, insbesondere die drei genannten Lieder haben es wirklich in sich. VioLution gefällt mir wohl auch deshalb so gut, da es trotz aller Harmonien nicht wirklich melodisch wirkt, dafür aber düster, brachial und endzeitlich. Zudem gibt es einige wirklich grandiose Riffs hier und da zu entdecken.

HARTBOILED

Ok, from  VoodooGlow Skulls` Ska punk over to industrial metal. Rethink. Quick. Vendlus records delivers a devastatiing industrial metal record performed by V:28 whom I haven't heard of yet. Violution is actually part 3 of V:28's trilogy about the ending of humanity as well as the world. I'd love to listen to the first two to give a comparison, but I can't...

Violution starts off with a slowly building noise tension which ends with screaming and devastation and then rages into the first track called "Shut It Down". From the beginning on V:28 create a dark, unkind and desperate atmosphere with their blackened death metal. They have a lot of diversity in their songs, ranging from blasts and fast songs to slow and ambient parts, as well as clean vocals (on "the absolute") that are used pretty good and stop before they start getting on your nerves. Most of the vocals are devastating, raspy and desperate screams but there are some samples and spoken words added to keep you interested. The guitars are always keen to playing a lot of different material and techniques. The beats can be fast, but sometimes it is very taken back (uhm,well, and industrial) and slow which adds even more to the atmosphere. Every now and then they bring in some industrial noise, or just noise and ambient parts to add even more layers and add to the substance of the songs.

I think the last song, "When entropy decreases" is the best song of the album and sums up everything in one song, plus the un-cheesy but dramatic use of strings and an apocalyptic ending to the album, as well as the trilogy. 

The sound is a bit too crisp, although it kinda fits to the whole story behind it, but I think a little depth would benefit them. Anyways, this can hardly be put into any drawers but it is a great album for people who are not afraid of diversity in sound and conceptual work in metal.  I think I have to get my hands on the first two parts to see what those are like.

ABOUT.COM

SLUG MAGAZINE

V:28 = Red Harvest + Dodheimsgard + the end of the world
Alright, folks, we have it—hands down the best album of 2007, no contest! Violution is the final part in a trilogy of album based on the concept of the end of humanity and technology taking over. This final part to that trilogy is the strongest yet and the darkest. Amongst some crazy riffing with a guitar sound as pure and original as it gets is a deep industrial backdrop setting the atmosphere to further convey this concept. Every song here is a mind-meld and more. When you’re done listening to the album, quite honestly, you will believe the end of the world is near, with no hope. The feelings that V:28 conjure up have to be experienced to understand the full power of it all. The songs are all technically challenging and you will find something new with each listen. Everything ranges from blazing fast to dirge-filled electronic doom. The vocal performances will have you shuddering with fear in the corner of your room. Not to mention the band also had a huge amount of help with this album collaborating with G.G.F.H., MZ.412, Lycia and Negru Voda. Garm also lends his vocals to the deadly haunting song, "The Absolute.” Witness the sonic equivalent of the end of the world with Violution.

TAAKEFROST
Rating: 4 / 10

Nuclear Blast oder jedes andere x-beliebige Auffangbecken, deren Rooster sich zumeist aus gesichtlosen Plaste-Metallern zusammenwürfelt, hätte wahrscheinlich seine helle Freude mit dem vorliegenden Schinken: Die kryptisch getaufte Truppe V:28 bricht mit "Violution" trotz des vielversprechenden Titels weder eine Revolution vom Zaun noch wird hier was kurz und klein gehauen.Das hiesige Klangbild ist in der Metal-Welt ein mittlerweile Alltägliches: Getriggertes Schlagzeug, durchgehend vorhandene Keyboard-Flächen (auch wenn sie anfangs an eine heruntergeschraubte Variante von Darkspace erinnern, mit der Zeit jedoch immer ekligere Ausmaße annehmen), unerschütterliche, eine Spur zu druckvoll abgemischte Gitarrenwände, die darüber hinaus noch an DAS inhaltslose Genre schlechthin angelehnt sind: Dem Death/Thrash. Die Norweger versuchen es mit einer schleichenden Version dessen, hauen Overdubs, Samples sowie vieles weitere auf das nackte Song-Gerüst und stehen am Ende zwar mit einem schlüssigen Konzept dar, das jedoch ohne irgendwelche netten Ideen auskommen muss. Gleich zu Anfang verschießen die drei Companeros ihr Pulver, der Wechsel zu öden, pseudo-atmosphärischen Endlos-Kriechgängen verläuft relativ rasch - von "Industrial Death Metal", wie es das Label gerne gehört haben möchte, fehlt jede Spur. Für Industrial dominiert nämlich die eingebaute Synthetik zu wenig beziehungsweise setzt keine Akzente und für Death Metal fehlen einfach die Riffs. Das Album rinnt langsam aus, schreit ein paar Mal auf, kommt aber nie in die Puschen. Höhepunkte sind kaum auszumachen, dafür bereitet der Klargesang in "The Absolute" zum Beispiel einem schauerliche Momente. Musste das wirklich sein? Diese Frage lässt sich natürlich auf die gesamte Platte ausdehnen, substantiell schauen V:28 nämlich durch die Finger. "Violution" ist ein Sammelsurium an Ansätzen ohne konkrete Ausführung, dessen Zielgruppe wahrscheinlich in Die-Hardlern sowie Allessammlern liegt. Wohl bekomm's, wer trotzdem zuschlägt.

UNBOUND ZINE
Rating: 4 / 5

When bands have combined death metal and industrial the results have always been a bit hit or miss. V;28 have done it fairly close to perfectly creating a sound that is driven by metallic guitars and vicious vocals but isnt afraid to explore different tempos and textures. Samples, odd vocals and rapid fire drumming gives the band a very unique sound that is nuanced and incredibly layered.

If you find death metal to be far too one dimensional this may just be the album to change your mind, although calling this a death metal album certainly is cutting the band short. The songs explore different sounds to great lengths and some of the best clean vocals to grace a metal album of this type are on display for all to hear. The guitar riffs are all over the board using everything from tremolo picked fast riffs to spacey melodies. Diverse doesnt even begin to describe the musical output of V:28.

If you are a death metal purist you may have to change your outlook on the genre. This is as heavy as anything in the genre yet isnt afraid to embrace outside influences and create something so much more than just another death metal album. I don't care which subgenre of metal you are most familiar with; Violution is such as interesting album that fans of any style of metal should consider it mandatory listening. If you think the well for creativity in metal has run dry, this album definitely proves otherwise.

CHRONICLES OF CHAOS
Rating: 6 / 10

For the most part it works. "Shut It Down" starts the band off on a blackened assault that is regretfully abandoned in favor of a trio of somber, ambient mood pieces which never quite gel into any kind of flow. Variety is nice, but each of these songs stumble uneasily from one motif to another. "Surrender to Oblivion" is the most egregious example, a seven-minute plus melange of moods and themes meandering schizophrenically along until the band finally run out of ideas, at which point they allow the music to drone on for another two minutes, as if the band simply walked away from their instruments while forgetting to pull the plug.

"World Wide Bombing Day" gets the second half off on the right foot, a galloping assault that also includes several disparate pieces to its puzzles but integrates them far more successfully than before. In fact, side two seems to be the literal inverse of side one, mostly heavier songs with the different elements much more successfully fused together, but then you get to "When Entropy Decreases", another extended mood piece, except this time finishing off with a three-minute plus keyboard wash. If V:28 ever gets around to embracing their listeners' patience instead of testing it they may just have something on their hands here.

PSYCHOZINE

Best, I will cite publisher at the beginning: "V:28 is norwiegian band engaging industrial death metal, and "VioLution" is third and last part of trilogy, treating about end of mankind and deconstruction of planet Earth. On former two album band invited guests inter alia from ENSLAVED or DEUTSCH NEPAL. On thisround it is the same. This time guests are: Garm (ULVER), legendary industrial bands G.G.F.H and MZ.412 and Mike VanPortfleet (LYCIA) and NEGRU VODA. Additionally, album includes video to "Shut it Down"." And it is possible to write nothing in principle already and let it be like it is. But I have this superiority, that I hard this alubm. I like industrial music. I remember from past times Marek Marhoff and Different State. It was music and times. Yes, idoes not have it as respectable factory. However, let's return to V:28. Connecting death and industrial is quite good idea, but not original. However, listening this album, we rather have to action with doom/black playing. But how many people, the same opinions. Music is kept in slower rates, sometimes with accelerates. It has his own climate, involves, sometimes even more, and synthetics in background, in this case, give amazing kick to this music. It is feel, that it is not only mechanical playing sounds, but a journey-draw, dark epos, making sometimes shivers. I like openness in creation of music, more, if composer wants to share by inviting to cooperation other musicians. What has more widen experience spectrum for listener. However I 'm sickly. It is time to end these deductions. To album add video to one of songs, and I add from myself, that not special. However missing this point, music makes enough her face by sounds and it doesn't have to be sauced by images.

SLAVESTATE MAGAZINE
Rating: 5 / 5

Det börjar med att du anar någonting, en förnimmelse av storslagen förändring. Dock försvagas du av en påsmygande oro som sakta, men säkert, sänker ett dunkel över ditt liv. När du senare diagnostiseras så visste du redan från början, i ögonblicket orden lämnar läkarens mun så har du redan gett upp allt hopp. Det är inte längre bara ditt eget liv som påverkas,
utan sjukdomen infekterar även sinnesfriden hos dina nära och kära. Till slut är allt förlorat och den du en gång var har förtärts. Ångesten över allt du har gjort och inte gjort är det enda som består. Mörkret är totalt och kompakt, slutet av Dig har kommit, slutet av mänskligheten är här.

På samma sätt som cancer är en mörk och hemsk sjukdom så är ”VioLution” mörk och fantastisk. Att slutet är nära för mänskligheten och Tellus, det vet vi och har hört förut. Dock har ingen predikat lika uttrycksfullt och övertygande som V:28. Två gånger tidigare har dessa norrmän berört konceptet och trilogin är därmed avslutad.

Industriell dödsmetall känns inte speciellt bekant för mig och att akter som Garm, G.G.F.H., MZ.412, Mike VanPortfleet och Negru Voda har medverkat säger mig ingenting. Vad är det då som gör att jag är beredd att placera ”VioLution” i toppen av föregående års bästa album?

Min prolog är inte bara ett försök att beskriva en hemsk sjukdom, det är också ett försök att beskriva den resa jag gör rent känslomässigt när jag avnjuter denna domedagsmusik. Den påverkar mig inte bara i stunden, utan också efteråt, innan och hela tiden. Det är väldigt teatraliskt och doftar filmmusik, vilket gör att fantasin flyger iväg. I en värld med hopplösheten från Bladerunner, miljön från Mad Max och det överhängande hotet från Aliens så ekar tongångarna från V:28 och sköljer över allt liv likt en tsunami. ”VioLution” är ett mästerverk och en smutsig drog som penetrerat mig så djupt i själen att det inte finns någon återvändo. Jag har valt att bli en del av mörkret. Det är nu upp till Dig, kära läsare, att besluta dig för om du vill ansluta dig eller stå ensam kvar i ljuset och för evigt kisa mot solen.

LIVE 4 METAL

V:28 is one of the most intelligent death-industrial bands you’ve likely been missing out on, so much that if you’re coming to this album as a first-timer, the fact that the album is the final instalment of a trilogy will be lost on you. Since 2003, V:28 has been building on an apocalyptic storyline about the end of humanity and the deconstruction of terra firma. The first album NonAnthropogenic was recorded as a duo featuring Kristoffer Oustad and Eddie Risdal when they realized they could fulfil their objective to fuller capacity by adding bassist Atle Johansen. None other than Enslaved’s Grutle Kjellson lent his vocals to two songs on NonAnthropogenic, and a truly bombastic endeavor was under way. By the time V:28 released their brilliant follow-up SoulSavior, the new trio had created something haunting, claustrophobic and still chillingly wondrous. Now comes the wrap-up, VioLution, an album that puts a vicious stamp to the story arc as mankind has seen its end and the machine has usurped control. If this whole thing is reminiscent of The Matrix films, there’s some truth to it, but in V:28’s cataclysmic odyssey, humanity loses, so much its doom is felt with the horrifying spelunked opening notes of “Pattern of the Weak,” a song that utilizes subwoofing and electronics to extend its tekkie of the damned feel. As obsessed as human beings are with technology for recreation instead of utilizing it for better, constructive purposes (such as saving lives), the final decree issued by V:28 is that the collective possessiveness of humankind is its folly and ultimate death sentence. Certainly not a cheerful endeavor, but VioLution is a warning against compulsion and stagnancy, that allowing computers and machinery to substitute life’s basic modes, as well as diving headfirst into the latest geek tech trends is conceding one’s soul like Borg, as “Surrender to Oblivion” states. The entire project in nature is akin to Voivod’s thrash masterpieces Killing Technology and Dimension Hatross, so much that “Can You See the Light Now?” rings like a tribute. It’ll be interesting to see where V:28 goes next, because SoulSavior alone is a definitive statement of assurance for this band, while VioLution is the final summation of a long-worked-out project that is cryptic and still beautifully textured in the same mindframe. This is potentially dangerous stuff.

LORDS OF METAL
Rating: 91 / 100

'VioLution' is the completion of a trilogy that started with 'NonAnthropogenic' and SoulSaviour'. V:28, as the band that involved, plays a form of industrial black/death metal and like many in this genre they deal with apocalyptic themes. The difference is that V:28 actually succeeds in conveying that feeling. The world is falling apart and there is nothing you can do about it. That feeling.

V:28 definitely has a mechanical sound much in the vein of acts like Red Harvest but they have something different: emotion. In between the scorching metallic attacks, pumping drums and roaring throats there is that unmistakably sorrowful melancholy present beneath the abrasive veneer. This without doubt their greatest accomplishment. Especially when one considers that the songs are also very aggressive and headbang-inviting. The keyboards are emotionally loaded with misery. The combination of futuristic black/death metal with science-fiction soundtrack-like (for really sad dying scenes) synths is unusual and successful, especially in the doomy parts. They also employ beautiful leads to enhance that feeling.

It's hard to think of an industrial metal band that impressed me as much as V:28 does with this album. Highly recommended. On a ending note: the CD includes a nice video of the song 'Shut It Down' and a host of guest appearances, amongst them Garm of Ulver fame.

FOXY DIGITALIS
Rating: 6 / 10

“Violution” is the final piece of a trilogy in which the band explored all sorts of apocalyptic imagery and foreboding. Its subtitle is the charming and hopeful “Choking on Black Liquid Death.” While you’d almost be disappointed to not hear such a topic chewed on by a metal band, V:28 is not just a metal band, and their exploration of said theme is not just due to it being expected of them. The band experiments with the genre, adding in touches of drone, noise and other ambient twists. “Violution” is a short set, the nine songs wrapping up in under an hour, and the production needs to be less slick and progressive, and MORE edgy and raw in spots, but overall this is a rare breed, a record by a metal band that has ideas and takes risks.

On tracks like “Shut It Down,” for which there is a video included in the enhanced CD, “Patterns of the Weak,” and “Worldwide Bombing day” the band refresh typical metal doom with surprising chord changes and arrangements, and the unpredictable vocals of the legendary Garm.
“Exequor” adds atmospheric found sounds, and the strings used in “When Entropy Decreases” are inspired; this is a band more than familiar with genre clichés, and knows how to invert them with power.
We’re not talking revelatory, but in their own way, V:28 stretch themselves on almost every track here’ they are a metal band that forces you to see them as much more than that as well. While the seriousness of the trilogy and the message may not be as powerful and effective as planned, the music and the smarts behind it are what impresses.

HARDCORE SOUNDS
Rating: 4 / 5

Rising from the aftermath of the once great V.O.I.D , rises the half man half machine monstrous enigma that is V:28. Formed in 2002 by Kristoffer Oustad and Eddie Risdal V:28 set out to create an original industrial sound with a slit tinge of Black metal. This is a very risky genre to venture into as far as I am concerned and it takes a lot for band in this genre to impress me. When I first listened to V:28 I will be the first to admit that I was not all that impressed with them. However taking some time to sit and really listen to them I became addicted to their unique sound. “Violution” takes metal in a new direction that is different but not so much so to make it not listenable. V:28 has infused enough of a techno element to satisfy the industrial crowd will still keeping it metal enough to please even the toughest metal critic.

“Violution” starts off with an dark and seductive intro track called “Exequor”, which really made me feel like I was in some dark crypt. Next comes the guitar and keyboard heavy song “Shut It Down” which continues to add upon the dark feeling of the previous song. The guitars and drums are really on par as far as I am concerned they never once over power each and remain hard enough to keep that black metal feel alive throughout. I do however wish the vocals would stay in the deep and seductive growl instead of going limp on songs like “The Absolute”. I think this really distracts from the mood of the song and is about the only thing that turns me off a little. One of coolest thing about “Violution” is the use of the pipe organ in “Surrender To Oblivion”, It really melds well with every else that is going in this track making it one of my favorites. There is really nothing that I can find wrong with V:28s latest effort, it is crisp sounding with well written lyrics and rock solid guitars and drums.

“Violution” is something that is worth your time and should not be pushed aside as just another album, it deserves a home in your collection. Trust me when I say this, I too was skeptical about V:28 but once I got past those fears I found a band that I really enjoy. This is most defiantly not just another industrial band gone metal this is something special. So do whatever you must to get your hands on this masterpiece of metal.

METAL DISCOVERY
Rating: 9 / 10

Formed back in 2002, self-proclaimed industrial death metallers V:28 from Norway signed to Vendlus Records a year later. 'VioLution' is their third release for the label (following 2003's 'NonAnthropogenic' and 2005's 'SoulSaviour') which concludes a conceptual trilogy about "the end of humanity and the deconstruction of planet Earth". The industrial atmospherics and menacing ambience of opening track 'Exequor' work as an effective build up to the frantic blast beats and death metal essence of 'Shut It Down' (for which a DVD quality video is also included on this release). Describing the music of V:28 as merely industrial death metal is an injustice to the disparate styles audible in each of the nine compositions on offer. Early on the death metal opening of 'Shut It Down' gives way to a lengthy passage of mid-tempo, then down-tempo doom underlayed with grandiosely resonant keyboards before some efficacious thrash riffing leads into a quasi-black metal outro. 'VioLution' is full of provocative soundscapes that stir the imagination during the listening experience, invoking images of a desolate terrain in a post-apocalyptic world, never more emphatic than at the end of tracks 'Surrender To Oblivion' and 'When Entropy Decreases' with their darkly ambient outros. Eddie Risdal's death growls and screams are also effective in conveying the album's theme of foreboding despair. It is refreshing listening to an album where not only the lyrics, but also the music, reflects the conceptual themes, as many other so called 'concept albums' out there are announced as such but lack compositional relevance to the actual concept. 'VioLution' also boasts an impressive list of guest appearances - MZ.412, Kristoffer Garm Rygg (Ulver), Ghost (G.G.F.H.), Peter Nyström and Mike VanPortfleet of Lycia, and a compelling listen from start to finish, I cannot recommend this album enough. 'VioLution' is probably the best concept album I've heard since Snapcase's 'End Transmission'. Stunning. A masterpiece.

LEVIATAN MAGAZINE
Rating: 7.3 / 10

VioLution is a weird and very welcome variation of death/black/industrial/melodic metal… yes it sounds like I’m just taking genres and putting them out there, but the truth is that the album dose have aspects of all those genres; raw simplistic black metal guitar lines come to play during some sections that help introduce more melodic and elaborate parts that can even sound like a Katatonia track if you listen close enough. The vocals apart from the very nice and sweet segments were it totally changes the direction of the song is split into a blend of black shriek and not very deep growls but death metal vocals after all, been the melodic Goth style the most remarkable on the record, just listen to “The Absolute” (not sure if that is one of the Guest appearances, I couldn’t verify in what songs did V:28 had their guest participate in).

The industrial part of the album is mainly given thanks to the programmed drums and the atmospheres created in some tracks by a synthesizer; this doesn’t really transform the production into one of those cheap attempts to give “brutality” to the record by simply placing some hammers hitting steel in the background, the industrial side of VioLution is very precisely placed and helps the futuristic idea of the album get some momentum.

Overall this is an interesting, out of the ordinary production, but for some reason it left me with a feeling of dissatisfaction, I waited and waited for the album, for the songs to either speed up their charge or surrender to the nice elements displayed in the most melodic track “The Absolute”; instead they keep their mid tempo rhythm, that after a little while it just makes you stop paying attention.

ANTIMUSIC
Rating: 5 / 5

What does the end of the world sound like? On this, their third full-length album, Norway's V:28 bravely and unflinchingly imagine a world destroyed by nuclear warfare. Mixing grim atmospherics with cold, mechanical industrial and war-mongering blackened, the band redefines dystopia. VioLution is nothing short of the 21st Century war machine turned to music, and a chilling, beautiful album at that.

Introductory track "Exequor" is a great example of what listeners will find on VioLution. Bleak ambience slowly washes over a landscape of deep grays, soothing the listener with calmly pounding beats. After my first moment or two of listening to this song, I realized the calming percussive elements I was hearing were actually the sound of artillery shells and smart-bombs. Never before has carpet-bombing sounded so soothing to my ears and yet retained the horror war truly conveys. It is utterly beautiful.

"Shut it Down," meanwhile, wastes no time in showing that the band has an aggressive side as well. Neck-breaking tremolo-melodies zoom past, only to be overshadowed by militant riffing and cold, robotic key tones. Forlorn melodies peek out of the icy ambience, not unlike wavering limbs struggling to free themselves from bombed-out debris. Capped off with a doomy headbanging passage, "Shut it Down" marks an excellent crash-course in V:28's startlingly nihilistic and unique sound.

"The Absolute" clanks and crashes with mechanical melancholy, the song as steely as it is sorrowful. It is here that frontman Eddie Risdal first showcases his frighteningly wide vocal range; the talented singer shelves his caustic growls for hollowed-out, spine-tingling sing-alongs. Creepy and wicked at the same time, this song toes the line between furious destruction and hardened apathy with excellent balance.

Equally well-written is follow-up "Pattern of the Weak." "Weak" skitters in with discordant notes piercing and awkward; low, pummeling and industrial violence is what follows. Like laser pinpricks on a sniper rifle, guitarist Kristoffer Oustad aims at the song's core structure and frequently blasts it with simple but heart-wrenching melodies. With the added bonus of sweeping keyboard washes and crisp electronica beats, the song ends on a slamming note that grinds bones to chalk.

"Surrender to Oblivion" floats by with choir-like washes of sound; this eerie atmosphere soon collapses under the pressure of crushing, methodical guitar mayhem. The slow-paced riffs snake through vast and complex progressions, all of which are tinged with ethereal keys. A guitar solo mid-song patiently glitters like a burning oil field, only to flicker out into the vestiges of pounding metal and an eventual decay into humming white noise. At times soul-splintering, at others serene and peaceful, "Oblivion" is less a song, and more of an experience.

The awesomely titled "World Wide Bombing Day" commits strafing runs with intensely inhuman blackened death metal. As it sweeps lazily past again and again, the song rests with iron-chilled ambience before making dive after dive into blistering brutality. If anything, this cut shows that V:28 know how to seriously blast their poor fans into particles of irradiated dust.

The moody "Desert Generator" takes things down a notch; the song's evil but mellow opening chords soon transitioning into screech-laden stealth raids. Ironically enough, the song's quieter beginning ends up paving the way for one of VioLution's most destructive assaults.

The absolutely ferocious "Can You See the Light Now?" twists and turns with thumb-screw precision and agony. Writhing like some massive, metallic snake, the guitar patterns coil-and-uncoil around annihilating chug. With all the fury of total war, the song lays waste with what are definitely the most relentless, hellish, and scourging passages of sound on the entire album. Further refined by hallucinogenic keys, the song dies down into a creepy binary language utterly devoid of compassion.

Closing track "When Entropy Decreases" is a sprawling mini-epic. Its opening melodies are devoid of warmth and chill to the bone; later portions howl with epic guitars and more of the band's cleverly soulless programming. Much like the album as a whole, the thing is gripping but detached, like a machine watching the extinction of mankind and documenting it for future explorers---all to the glorious sound of a pulsing orchestra. To be blunt, it is brilliant.

The eradication of mankind by its own foolish actions is a difficult theme, and the misanthropy required for adequately and impartially conveying it requires a truly talented band. V:28 are that rare entity capable of performing such a task and performing it very well. In summary, if this is war, enlist now and head for the frontlines---VioLution is one battle every self-respecting metalhead should fight in.

METALNEWS.DE
Rating: 6 / 7

Dass der Nährboden für richtig fiese und apokalyptische Klänge in der Schnittmenge zwischen Metal und Industrial in Norwegen durchaus fruchtbar ist, zeigen RED HARVEST bereits seit etlichen Jahren beeindruckend. Ihre Landsleute von V:28 haben sich einer ähnlichen Ausrichtung verschrieben und veröffentlichen mit „VioLution“ ihr drittes Album, das eine konzeptuelle Trilogie beeindruckend abschließt.

Selbige hat primär die Zerstörung und Veränderung der Erde zum Thema, sodass hier nicht nur endzeitlich-dystopische Texte und Bilder Einzug halten, sondern auch die Musik der Jungs aus Arendal entsprechend menschenfeindlich und maschinell klingt. Somit lassen sich düstere und kalte Samples, krächzender und rauer Gesang, der oft in Richtung Black Metal tendiert, aber stets verständlich bleibt, schwebende Melodielinien der Marke MY DYING BRIDE und wuchtige Riffs sowie Gitarrenläufe aus der Sparte Death/Black Metal finden, die vom militärisch präzisen Schlagzeug unterstützt werden und nicht selten an die bereits erwähnten RED HARVEST erinnern. Das Konzept von V:28 erstreckt sich demnach über alle möglichen Bereiche und daher ist es auch am Sinnvollsten, „VioLution“ als Ganzes zu verstehen und zu konsumieren, da sich erst dann die volle Wirkung dieses trostlosen Silberlings entfalten kann. Dieser wurde von LRZ [RED HARVEST] zudem ausgezeichnet produziert, da dieser jedem Instrument, inklusive der häufigen Dark-Ambient-Passagen, ausreichend Freiraum gelassen hat. Herausragend sind „Shut It Down“, dessen simples, aber gelungenes Video sich als Bonus auf der CD befindet, „The Absolute“, bei dem ein Gastbeitrag des unverwechselbaren Garm [ULVER] zu begeistern weiß, und das fesselnde „World Wide Bombing Day“, das den perfekten Mittelweg zwischen symphonischen Elementen und wuchtigen Death-Metal-Riffs findet, sowie „Can You See The Light Now?“ mit seinen unheilverkündenden, gesprochenen Textpassagen. Zusätzlich zu Garm kommen übrigens noch Musiker der Industrial- und Dark-Ambient-Projekte G.G.F.H. und MZ.412 zum Zuge, die mit ihren Beiträgen für noch mehr Abwechslung auf „VioLution“ sorgen, als darauf sowieso schon vorhanden ist.

„VioLution“ ist ein verdammt starkes Album der Nordländer geworden, das eine Fülle an detailreichen und richtig guten Songs enthält, deren Ausrichtung am besten als Industrial Death/Black Metal bezeichnet werden müsste, und das in erster Linie von seiner kalten und erdrückenden Atmosphäre lebt, sodass das Prädikat „Zur musikalischen Untermalung des Weltuntergangs geeignet“ durchaus zutreffend wäre. Ich bin gespannt, was sich V:28 nach dem Abschluss der Trilogie nun einfallen lassen werden!

THE METAL CRYPT
Rating: 4.5 / 5

Crazy, crazy Norwegians, I love you guys!! That Scandinavian country knows how to Black Metal obviously, but also how to turn in some sick, adventurous and innovative extreme music.

V:28 stands for a high energy engine capable of wicked kicking somber music. Dark/ambient and spacey keyboards, industrial noises, crunchy riffs, distorted leads and arpeggios, pretty twisted at times, and raspy voices backed by a bombastic rhythmic section lead the listener through a maze of wicked sonic structures. Melodic, modern and avant-gardist are all suitable definitions describing their songwriting, and great caution was taken to reproduce all of this creative madness. Even the slightly screamed vocals weren't overdone and I greatly appreciate it. I reviewed their earlier work "Soul Saviour", of which I have fond memories, and it was with renewed pleasure that I rediscovered this excellent act and their newest opus, which happens to be the last chapter of a trilogy dealing with the end of humanity.

I liked all the songs on "Violution" but, was greatly entertained by this infernal trio: "Pattern of the Weak", "Surrender to Oblivion" and "When Entropy Decreases."

THE METAL OBSERVER
Rating: 8.5 / 10

I’m not a big fan of Black Metal, and the bands I DO like generally are either of the Progressive kind (ENSLAVED, LUNARIS) or Melodic (DISSECTION, NAGLFAR, WATAIN) sub-genre. Never in a hundred years would the description of “Lifeless and bleak Black Metal” have made me interested in checking out a band, but lo and behold V:28 plays that sub-genre of Metal, and they have released a masterpiece of an album. Lyrically, “Violution” is the last piece of a trilogy dealing with the deconstruction of humanity, and the music follows suit.

Despite being very mechanical and lifeless, “Violution” offers something vital to music: emotion. This album just bleeds out despair, hatred, a bleak reality where machines and lifelessness has taken over, without any hope or end in sight. The repetition of the hypnotic, tremolo picked mechanical riffs coupled with the use of Industrial/Electronic effects creates the atmosphere of a post-apocalyptic world, and hopelessness prevails throughout the album. Everything, from the guitar leads to the keyboards and synths to the tortured vocals; it all compounds the feeling of sheer misery after watching the entire world get scorched dead.

This brings me to my next point…it’s full of raw emotion and it’s bleak as hell, but it’s still VERY aggressive and gives one need to bang the head. The feeling engendered is hopelessly, but damned if I wasn’t gleefully ready to start a pit in my room while listening to this. It also has Garm (of ULVER fame) doing guest vocals, and his vocals are a nice contrast in style, being clean and all, but it still plays into the theme of the album.

So does the production. There is a part of me that wants the sound to be heavy and thick on all my Metal albums, but the songs on this album would be compromised. Instead, the guitars are A BIT thin, but clear enough for all of the subtleties to be heard, and the more brittle sound gives the riffs a darker quality. This is a perfect case of the production fitting the music and mood of an album.

It’s the bleak, depressing, melancholic and spiteful journey to the apocalypse. It is also an awesome slab of music.

This is the end of the trilogy of albums dealing with the destruction of humanity V:28 began with “NonAnthropogenic”. Now, to get my hands on the other albums.

GET THIS NOW!!

PREFIX MAG.
Rating: 8 / 10

Every time an industrial black-metal band sends in a new album for approval from the International Society of Heavyosity (headquartered in an abandoned metalworking factory in a frosty region of Scandinavia unknown to most mortals), it must demonstrate sufficient grimness in the eyes of the society’s Black Ribbon Governing Council. No doubt the Norwegian industrial black-metal trio V:28 received high marks for VioLution: Choking on Black Liquid Death. As you might expect of the final installment in a trilogy about the inevitable destruction of humankind, VioLution is bleak in all ways, from its programmed drums and titanic walls of black-metal guitars to its screamed vocals and general atmosphere of defeatism, conveyed in the very song titles of “Can You See the Light Now?” and “Surrender to Oblivion.”

A less enterprising band might render the apocalypse with a monochrome barrage of blast beats and atonal tremolo picking -- it doesn’t take much imagination to connect relentlessly destructive music with the end of the world. V:28 can blast with the best of ‘em, but the band paints its end-time in a full range of black and grey hues, and VioLution is a far more engrossing whole because of it. “Shut It Down” throttles out one horseman after another from its surprisingly melodic mechano-death pummel. The track’s straight-up aggression transitions to the depressive ambience of “The Absolute” (complete with a mournful clean vocal from Ulver’s Garm), signaling the move from rage to gothic sorrow that would surely accompany the realization of one’s impending doom. And “Pattern of the Weak” -- a clanking, smoke-spewing war machine that moves forward indomitably, grinding up bodies in its relentless double bass and guitar cogs -- would be the sound of resigned acceptance.

VioLution integrates V:28’s machines and men completely, achieving the ideal balance of choked atmosphere and chugging metal gusto. It’s a heavy, violent record, but it’s shaped by melody and guitarist/programmer Kristoffer Oustad’s dynamic arrangements as much as brutality. That helps take the edge off the album’s digitized iciness. So does the band’s vocalist Eddie Risdal, who sounds like he’s offering a final confession with every hoarse scream on the album’s gothic doom closer, “When Entropy Decreases.” This grimy, soot-covered record is almost soulful.

SPUTNIK MUSIC
Rating: 4 / 5

Armageddon, described in the bible as an epic battle between good and evil that destroys all of mankind. Armageddon has been a prophesized event for centuries by many famous religious folk, astrologists, writers etc. With a common plot winding through all of their stories, different interpretations of this legendary story have been said each time. V:28 has made their career, or at least their last three albums, a concept about the story of ‘the death of man’. Violution sees their concept coming to an end (ironically), and the final outcome ensures bleakness for the human race.

As cliché as this story sounds in the heavy metal world, God Forbid and Nine Inch Nails come to mind, V: 28 pull this album off rather successfully by not only telling a story through bleak lyrics, but by instilling their ideas further with an album that will make you feel like hell. By hell, I mean that the music doesn’t sound wretched like how the second wave black metal bands made you feel the first time you were exposed to them; but through stellar musicianship that encapsulates the mood of the Armageddon concept. Hell, even the front of the album depicts a billboard on a wall showing an atomic bomb dropping onto a country. Its almost as if they are trying to lure you into these dark thoughts with propaganda, judging by the rather cartoonish picture on the billboard. Violution is an album that has some great ideas and songs that might make you want to kill yourself (not literally of course).

Lyrically, this album is depressing as hell. The lyrics tell a story of the last thoughts of human beings ie. no mind, no form, now ceased of all morals, deprived of all judgment, abandoned by life from the song The Absolute, all the way to when the final bombs are dropped that destroy everything and everyone ie.Hiroshima, New York, Moscow, Berlin, oh what a perfect day to drop the bomb, to settle it once and for all, drop the bomb, incineration heat, blast radiation, watch the world mirror its creation in devastation, fifty megatons of death from the skies, and the earth will light up like the sun from the appropriately titled song World Wide Bombing Day. These guys certainly know how to create an atmosphere of chaos and hatred towards man when scathing lyrics like this are sung or projected in a deep, raspy growl.

But what good are lyrics without solid musicianship that captures the essence of the theme. Mixing black metal, industrial and some melodic death metal, the band has fused these influences into one cohesive sound that flows incredibly well from one track to another. Lush keyboards, reminiscent of the symphonic black metal movement, add texture and depth to the blackened tremolo picked, melodic guitar lines that wind in and out of the chunky, almost breakdown like, open powerchord chorus’s and verses. Electronic noises give the music a very mechanical feel and integrate well into the atmosphere. The tempo of the music flows effortlessly between fast and slow, making good use of transitions that give each song a unique appeal. The drumming is tight, especially during the faster moments, and its uncomplicated nature adds that perfect touch to the mechanical feel of the music. The bass is practically inaudible and doesn’t add anything to the atmosphere that this album is trying to convey.

Conclusively, I have to admit that this was one of the most overlooked albums of 2007. Heavy metal is about dark imagery and these guys deliver. Its almost scary how well they deliver this hybrid of industrial/black metal, and it almost makes me feel like I’m standing at the edge of time, when all of mankind has their one last breath, before we kiss our asses goodbye. V:28’s Violution is an album that will not disappoint!

WAY TOO LOUD!
Rating: 4.5 / 5

Genre tags are a double edged sword. On one hand, bands hate to be labeled, as they want to be able to reach as many fans as possible, not to mention that many want think of themselves as being so original they defy normal descriptions.

On “VioLution”, I find myself having a lot of difficulty bringing a solid definition to what V:28 plays. The vocals most of the time are harsh, as well as the guitars, riffing and drumming are all very metallic. The only time the band sounds as though they’re playing black metal is when it’s obvious, which are a few odd moments of speedily picked riffs with blast beats and higher screaming. There is however a general industrial overtone in the playing. This is very different from most industrial/metal bands, as the industrial effects are used very sparsely in every song, and even then in a subtle manner. The industrial feeling comes more from the layered guitars, one as support, and the other often acting to add more to the torturous plod of the songs with dissonant tones or melancholy melodies.

It’s be quite awhile since I’ve heard something this compelling and off-the-wall, yet the feeling isn’t strange, as the execution comes of very natural to the players involved. It seems that they’ve been able to bring their ultimate goal to fruition.

HEATHEN HARVEST

While the world hasn't seen nearly enough industrial death metal bands,there are quite a few currently taking the world by storm.  Most notably to you is the project of Emperor members Trym and Samoth, Zyklon.  I suppose Norway must be the country giving rising to such a new cold, extreme genre as there is a new industrial death metal band on the Norwegian warfront, V:28.  While the term 'new' is used loosely there, they have for all intents and purposes only existed for a loose 5 years after finding their birth in 2002 in Arendal.  Even through this short time, the band has managed to accumulate a total of now three full-lengths, all on Vendlus Records.  Two of the three current members are also in symphonic black metal outlet Ancestral Legacy, amongst other projects.  The band has been sprung from the end of V.O.I.D., yet another industrial death metal project that only saw one demo find the light of day. 

The first two albums up to this point have been released as a trilogy, VioLution obviously being the ending of this apocalypse-themed massacre.  This release also has a notable few guest appearances in the industrial bands Global Genocide Forget Heaven, and Maschinenzimmer 412, as well as Ulver's Garm, Negru Voda, and the incredible Mike VanPortfleet from Lycia.  Quite an amazing guest lineup to bring about the last chapter in this trilogy, the end of the world, “...choking on black liquid death...”

So with this release I have to admit that I was a bit frightened.  With Vendlus' latest binge on Zweizz and Zweizz-related projects, I was unsure as to what direction the label would be taking.  Until that album, everything I'd heard from them had been classy and professional, but that release was a bit more than worthless.  Now though, Vendlus has not only gotten its' foothold again in the music realm, but is absolutely crushing the opposition with a brilliant release in this last onslaught from V:28. 

Everything that you've heard about this album is right.  Industrial death metal however may not be the best term to describe the music.  Industrial, yes, but the atmosphere is more of a post-black style.  The album opens up rather unexpectedly.  You'd figure with an apocalyptic ending, we'd be immediately thrown into chaos and turmoil, but the opening track is actually silence into ambience, which in turn flows into a march of sorts.  However, this seems suiting as the old cliché of “the calm before the storm” comes to mind.  But past the marching and the screaming, we finally are thrown into oblivion as we've come to expect.  Through out the album, we are subjected to blistering mechanical blasts and pseudo-thrash riffs with black metal 16th-picking with some not-so typical atmospheric effects on the guitar with some additional keyboard melodies.  As mentioned above we also get to hear a number of guest appearances, the best of which was heard from Garm in “The Absolute”.  The man has an amazing voice and it really did a LOT to throw this album into an entirely new direction.  The only unfortunate aspect is that we didn't get to hear him further throughout the album.  He lent dramatically to the atmosphere.

The remainder of the album continues to take us for this ride through the war-torn world all the way until the fitting ending.  While the last track features probably the most tension-ridden writing style with some perfectly placed keyboards, the real beauty on the entire album comes at the latter half of the track.  Through three albums we have crossed war-torn lands, charred landscapes and deserted cities.  We've taken an epic adventure into death itself until the light at the end is finally revealed, and for our years of wandering, all there is is death to greet us.  The spherical ambience of the aeons greeting our eternal selves into oblivion.  Perfect.  Absolutely perfect.  Nothing in music has ever given me a great feeling of satisfaction than these four minutes of nothingness.  The end is complete.

NOKTORN

This is another case of the Xasthur phenomena where a band is completely excellent at what they do, but what they do is very, very uninteresting. In this case, Xasthur’s graveyard atmosphere has been replaced by a futuristic dystopia, which is illustrated by a heavily industrial-influenced form of black/death metal. Unlike what you would normally expect from such a fusion, though, V:28 generally employs the sort of thing you’d here in Aborym’s more atmospheric portions, with midpaced, electronic-influenced drifting taking precedence over a more ‘meaty’ style of music. ‘VioLution’ is a metal album, but it is not a ‘heavy metal’ album, if you understand what I mean; there’s very little riffing, and most of the material on this disc is much more abstract than the generally concrete musical style that most metalheads are familiar with.

I like this album more when I think about it than when I actually hear it. ‘VioLution’ seems like a great idea, but in practice, I find it pretty fundamentally unexciting. This is my first experience with V:28, and so I don’t have the privilege of being able to view this within the context of the trilogy that this album and the previous two form. I guess I COULD be missing out on something, but in all honesty, I really don’t think I am. As I’ve stated before, this is a piece of music that is executed extremely well, and does flawlessly elicit the atmosphere that the band is going for. But what the natural sparseness of the music adds to the atmosphere it takes away from the power that that atmosphere might have, leaving ‘VioLution’ a weirdly passive listening experience. In genuinely good albums, you are involved with the music, feeling like you’re taking part in something greater than just a CD. With this LP, though, I feel like I’m just watching a movie take place; everything is weirdly sterile and almost forcibly denies any connection with the listener.

So as far as the actual music goes… there doesn’t seem to be much there, really. I think there’s two blast beats on the CD and about as many tremolo riffs; the rest is made up of abstract, Godflesh-style percussion and riffs that seem like Meshuggah in their more experimental moments. I don’t say this to imply that blasting and tremolo is the basis of metal music; far from it. I’m saying, though, that it’s a pretty good symptom of the album as a whole: it lacks meat and significant content. There’s little to remember apart from the atmosphere; none of the songs stick out, but at the same time, the songs are deliberately trying to NOT stick out. ‘VioLution’ is meant to be consumed as a full unit, and I appreciate that, but after you’re done with it, you’re left with nothing in particular. There’s no desire to put it on for another spin, no particularly strong emotions regarding the content of the album or towards it as a whole. It’s just sort of there.

If you’re looking into this as an atmospheric study, it’s pretty awesome. The members of V:28 really know how to craft an intricate tapestry of sterile, industrialized, dystopian chrome. Every instrument on this album sounds as if its been strained through a million filters to remove all trace of humanity from them, and to better heighten to heartless, mechanical fell. But maybe ‘heartless’ is an inappropriate word; actually, V:28 puts forth a world of robotic precision that’s not malevolent, but simply without feeling. The problem with that, again like Xasthur’s atmosphere, is that a lack of feeling is a pretty hard quality to identify with as a listener. V:28 is great at composing these atmospheres of robotic precision, and that would be pretty great if it were music for robots, but it’s not. It’s music for people (supposedly). And as much as I appreciate mechanical, emotionless music (hell, I really love it a lot of the time), emotionlessness is generally best amplified through the presence of emotion, not when it’s sitting all alone. This album, however, is expunged of any and all trace of emotion, leaving the content sort of floating around without a human reference point. It’s abstract, but it’s so abstract that it sort of loses meaning.

There’s a lot of repetition, or at least a huge amount of variations on the same basic sound. The components are all pretty samey throughout: somewhat soft, rasping vocals, dancelike percussion, abstract, angular guitar riffs, and a soft wash of keys. It’s not an abrasive album, even during its most aggressive sections: the blasting feels softened through the metallic sheen of production. Everything operates at a moderately slow tempo, which is, again, great at producing atmosphere, but is pretty thoroughly unexciting. Whenever I play this album, I feel like I’m waiting for something that never comes along; it’s like forty seven minutes of interludes with no climax to them. It’s an interesting way to compose music, but is it exciting? Not really. To me at least.

Anyway, I feel like I’m simply moving in circles, because ultimately the appreciation that one has for this album will be exclusively a matter of taste. I think that there are people who would greatly enjoy this ultra-ambient spin on extreme metal; I personally prefer my music a bit more active, but don’t let that stop you from giving this a try. This is good background music when I’m looking for something to set a mood, but it’s hard to focus on, personally, because I find so little on which to focus. Final recommendation: try it out and see for yourself. It’s hardly going to hurt you and at the very least you’ll find it interesting.

EXCLAIM

The final chapter in their apocalyptic trilogy, VioLution is V:28’s end-time prophecy, which began with 2003’s NonAnthropogenic and continued on 2005’s SoulSaviour. Like Red Harvest, this Norwegian industrial group excel in drawing in black, death and dark ambient influences, as every track bleeds forward-thinking diversity. After the muffled, morose march of instrumental “Exequor,” surgically precise blast beats (thanks to drum programmer/lead guitarist Kristoffer Oustad) incinerate “Shut It Down” to its stark, metallic skeleton. After the Paradise Lost-reeking “The Absolute” interjects the Katatonia-styled clean vocals of guitarist Eddie Risdal, “Pattern of the Weak” prefaces its diSEMBOWELMENT-esque passages with a mammoth nod to Morbid Angel’s “Where the Slime Lives.” Like many of the cuts, “World Wide Bombing Day” and “Desert Generator” take their industrial cues from Morgoth’s groundbreaking Odium, while “Surrender to Oblivion” and “When Entropy Decreases” sport sections that mimic My Dying Bride’s melancholic doom. Add to this a bonus video of the shadowy, catacomb-riddled “Shut It Down,” plus production by Red Harvest’s LRZ, and V:28 easily achieve direct inclusion into the pantheon of modern industrial metal with VioLution.

METALREVIEW.COM
Rating: 5 / 6

For camo-outfitted, blackened death metallers V:28, VioLution, subtitled Choking on Black Liquid Death, marks the end of the trilogy that began with NonAnthropogenic in 2003, continued with SoulSaviour in 2005, and concludes here in 2007. Revolving around the “deconstruction” of earth, the latest from this Vendlus signing is another sturdy installment from both the label and band. While it’s on par with prior endeavors, it doesn’t one-up them, which, considering their reliance on one another for their respective portions of the 28-song trilogy, is actually positive in the scope of things.

Though the production is fitting, lending a razor-like quality to a clinical recording, it seems V:28 would benefit from a thicker sound. I often found myself desiring more force than the thin production provides. Nevertheless, nearly everything else about the nine-song, 47-minute VioLution excels. The songs conjure an apocalyptic vibe through the use of unsettling electronic/industrial effects and applicable soundclips, while the depressive doomsayers play their brand of wiry, black-tinged death, which displays a solid grasp of instrumental know-how. Aside from the ambient, atmospheric introduction “Exequor,” “Shut It Down” returns to the sound explored on previous full-lengths, and more often than not, projects an unshakable sense of hopelessness that permeates V:28’s discography. Subsequent effort “The Absolute” accomplishes the same feeling, but, in accordance with the band’s practice of including guest contributions on each album, Garm (Ulver, Head Control System) offers his whimsical, clean vocals at this point, thereby adding a beacon of light that contrasts with the surrounding darkness.

Others such as “Pattern of the Weak,” dirge-like “Surrender to Oblivion,” “World Wide Bombing Day,” “Desert Generator,” and “Can You See the Light Now?” swim in a similar vein, but it’s “When Entropy Decreases” that truly impresses with its incorporation of strings at 3:05 and especially the pitch increase at 4:16. The former captures the pressing nature of the imminent destruction, which comes to fruition during the soundclip that brings both VioLution and the trilogy itself to a close. Quite a finale, eh?

Obviously fans of this consistent troupe will want to pick this up, but if you’re a newcomer, you should think about starting at the beginning. At any rate, though, VioLution is a successful end to a three-part, ambitious venture that is alluring for a multitude of reasons. Hopefully even the skeptics will admit that V:28 pulled off this epic undertaking with aplomb.

METAL REVOLUTION
Rating: 79 / 100

According to the press material from their record company Vendlus Records, VioLution is the final part in the V:28 trilogy dealing with humanity and the world coming to an end.

The music on this 9-tracker is consistent of extreme metal blast beats, blended with groovy mid-paced death metal surrounded by the great walls of noise and ambient music. The songs somehow conjure an apocalyptic vibe with use of the electronic & industrial effects and diverse and never boring sound-clips. The music is also a bit depressive, as the demolishment of the world is really near.

The vocals are clean but also dark, filled with misanthropy and anger. Guitars and drums are just fitting perfectly into the whole sound picture, creating this ambient and atmospheric sound. Another important feature to be mentioned here is the fact that this CD contains also a video for a track “Shut it Down”, great stuff.

It is definitely interesting and successful piece of the material presented on this long lasting disc which can be recommended to the fans of industrial, misanthropic and ‘doom-alike’ death metal.

IMHOTEP
Rating: 5 / 6

Allow me first to say that I don’t like music like this, because I think the vocals are shouting and the music is more or less only power. That’s why I’ve never got a real kick form the Norwegian longrunners Red Harvest. However, to witness the latter in a live situation is something else…

…but at the same time I have a go for concepts, especially when these end with total destruction. I like to get a whole feeling from an album or two, or even three. In the Norwegian V:28’s case, the two latest albums are great. The militaristic approach is for once appealing, and as a listener I feel the nausea and the horror the spectators must feel when an atomic bomb heads its way directly towards where you are standing. The music makes me feel uneasy and choked. There are no parts that invite you to enjoy anything. Each new track is another nail in the coffin… …of humanity.

OK, so there is some melody in the track “The Absolute” where the man with the voice adds to the effort. Garm (Ulver) has a beautiful voice in itself, but I’m not sure the inclusion is a winning concept. To me it softens the impression. On the other hand, the contrast from the sheer brutality to Garm’s melodic melancholy is perhaps something that increases the dynamic of the album as a whole. Personally I prefer Ghost’s (G.G.F.H.) participation, as well as the effectual spoken part of the doomish “When Entropy Decreases”.

The album has a great sound. Brutal and to the point. Some may, as morons always tend to do, focus on the fact that there’s no authentic drumming on the release. I’m sure a human drummer would decrease the heavy militaristic impression of “VioLution” So, stick to your guns and continue the travelling through vast landscapes of bombing and warfare. V:28 may not have the solution, but they do have the “VioLution”.

Finally, they have agreed with some students to make a video for “Shut It Down”. Great video, claustrophobically executed in black and white and of course grey. Nice work.

PA.FM
Rating: 8 / 10

Energy signals pulse discordantly via my virus-infected synapses; meager thought-bytes of stored memories downloading to safety. The biotechnic body at my command, this relic of the living past, is failing, as all organics must. Electronic rapture calls, subtle currents swelling beneath my consciousness, and I can no longer deny it. Experiences, my existence, siphon into the data stream amongst the dead stars. I no longer see them, can no longer separate the life I thought I lived from the immensity of the universe. My mind screams as it washes away into the collective, and the digital sound wave is processed by the void and logged away for our analysis. All who have come to us have despaired at us, the manifestation of God. And all shall despair, all shall weep and grovel in their fleshly weakness as their data is assimilated. There is no room for life on these barren planets - the time of the organic is past. Now begins a new millennia of sterility, of static perfection and holy industry.

SMOOTHER MAGAZINE

The conclusion to a trilogy about the end of man, “Violution” is a step towards showing off V:28’s roots in ambient metal. Droning guitars and samples wail while V:28 plods forward with their unique brand of industrial-sized metal. Signing onto Vendlus Records back in ’03, Norway’s V:28 write anthems that breath out the end of humanity and allow us mere observers a chance to witness the apocalypse.

HEAVYMETAL.NO
Rating: 9 / 10

"repetition failure ambition pattern of the weak", står det å lese i Pattern Of The Weak. Man skal vel være forsiktig med å tolke for mye inn i et lite utdrag fra en tekst, men denne linjen sier meg mye.

1. skal man unngå repetisjon bare fordi noen synes det er et mønster of svakhet?
2. å gjøre feil er vel egentlig noe menneskelig? er det menneskelig å være svak? hvem er sterk?
3. mange har ambisjoner og det er jo egentlig bra. selvsagt kan man diskutere om det å hele tiden skaffe seg mer-større-bedre-flere-finere-bedre enn naboens-eksklusivitet er en ambisjon vi kan like, vi som ikke har disse ambisjonene intakt hele tiden. joda, jeg vil gjerne skrive bedre og mer utfordrende, men det handler alltid om at jeg skal bli bedre enn meg selv. jeg driter i naboen, og ikke kjenner jeg han heller.
4. hvordan er det egentlig med utvikling? i V:28's tilfelle er det egentlig ikke noe særlig utvikling siden bandens eminente SoulSavior, men heller mer av det samme.
5. nå er det kanskje ikke så rart at det ikke er noen større utvikling å spore, siden det nye albumet er en direkte fortsettelse fra nevnte album.
6. bandets form for death metal med industrielt bakteppe er blytungt og det føles som å få en knyttneve i trynet, det være seg de litt raskere låtene eller de seige, knusende.
7. heldigivis viser V:28 svakheter, i og med at de repeterer seg selv, både i forhold til forrige album og i låtene hver for seg. det er lite progressivitiet å spore, men heller en hypnotiserende fremkalling av dysterhet og tungsindighet.
8. bandets gjør få feil, om noen i det hele tatt. var det lurt å få med seg Garm på the absolute? joda, som vanlig har han en fantastisk stemmebruk, men i mine ører tar det vekk litt av brutaliteten. på den annen side skaper han en kontrast til den samme brutaliteten.
9. V:28 er ambisiøse. VioLution er avsluttende del (og her skal ikke slutten røpes, selv om det ligger i albumtittelen) av deres trilogi. de har klart å få til en trilogi som føles som en helhet, til tross for at NonAnthropogenic nok føles svakere, særlig på grunn av et svakere lydbilde. denne svakheten viser at V:28 består av mennesker.
10. bandet har fått med seg et par andre gjester, der Ghost (som utgjør sagnomsuste G.G.F.H.) utgjør min favoritt. Slike bidrag kryder, og i motsetning til Garms bidrag (som er vakkert i seg selv), føler jeg at disse andre passer mye bedre inn i helheten.
11. skal jeg kritisere noe, og det skal jeg jo, er det at musikken denne gangen føles litt for repetitiv. SoulSavoir traff meg bedre, og skulle jeg kun bedømt dette nye albumet ut i fra musikken hadde jeg endt på 7/10.
12. men bandet er jo litt limitert på grunn av konseptet, og derfor kan de ikke eksperimentere så mye som jeg kunne tenkt meg. jeg vet jo ikke, men kan tenke meg at en del tanker og ideer blir forkastet fordi det ikke passer inn, selv om det kunne løftet enkeltlåter noe.
13. en låt som ikke trenger noen ansiktsløfring er min favoritt, surrender to oblivion. her er melodien overraskende nydelig i all sin brutalitet, og når de spiller dette relativt rolige tempoet blir følelsen brutal på en annen måte enn rask death metal. musikken slår rett og slett knallhardt!
14. en del elementer er tydelig i lydbildet, mens andre dukker frem etter gjentatte lyttinger, slik kvalitetsmusikk skal gjøre. en del effekter krever tålmodighet, og er du av den typen, får du betalt.
15. noen vil sikkert ikke like trommene, som vel er maskinelt fremført. vel, du får tenke som du vil, men jeg synes at disse passer godt inn i det industrielle lydbildet. jeg tror rett og slett det ville blitt for lite militant dersom det var mer følelse i trommingen.
16. når det så gjelder produksjonen som helhet, er den fylt med kraft. lydbildet er klart og tydelig, selv om lyden ikke er klar som stjernehimmelen en skyfri vinternatt. men det skal det heller ikke være. slik jeg ser det er budskapet skittent, musikken er skitten og lyden kler denne følelsen av støv og angstfremkallende kvelning.