Style: prog metal, prog death metal (mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Opeth?
Country: Brazil
Release date: May 3, 2024
I grew up going to Church because my parents intended for me to become a proper, God-fearing man. The weekly Sunday school, Catholic sacraments, late night Easter Vigil Masses, Church outreach events: I did it all. I also attended an extremely Christian middle school and then a Catholic high school. Y’know what they call those? Atheist machines. If my education didn’t steer me away from Christ, my first listen to Ben Baruk’s Cosmogony probably would have with its insipid Christian lyricism and its bloated, meandering runtime.
After an endless intro replete with pointless spoken word, “Scene One: I. The Almighty Music” shows off the sole graces of Cosmogony: occasionally intriguing choir parts, synthesized horns done well to dramatic effect, and decent guitar solos. Yet in the moments in between those acceptable parts, I was subjected to uninspired chugs, a singer without the skill for conviction, whispers, spoken word, and cheesy synthestra, seemingly random transitions that transcend the capacity of my musical mind, programmed drum solos, out of tune notes (7:41 into “Scene Three: Designing the Reality”)… it goes on and on for sixty-nine minutes (the Lord’s number).
Like my musical arch nemesis, Max Enix, what Ben Baruk attempts is admirable in scope, detailing God’s very act of creation with an orchestral metal suite, several different singers, and a range of moods and styles, and like old Max, Ben Baruk is not cut out for it and should reconsider his approach to music. The same perplexing vocal lilt of Enix’s composition muddy the already strained singing performance—all styles suffer, from the gruff cookie-monster harshes to the forced soprano to the painfully inadequate lead male cleans. Even though I fundamentally disagreed with how Enix used his orchestra, at the very least it was real, and Ben Baruk suffers production hiccup after production hiccup with his synthesized strings often being lost under the programmed drums or the vocals lost under the strings.
Cheap orchestra sounds are expected for up-and-coming underground bands, so you’d hope the riffs would at least be good. They’re woefully uninspired, chugging along similarly to bland djent but without any rhythmic complexity: I honestly was having flashbacks to the godawful Culak album I had to review. The non-metal sections are more entertaining than the programmed blasts, gruff harshes, and generic riffs, but the transitions between the two are never smooth and often the songs will stumble through riffs like a blind drunkard (PSA: watch out for stray Kia Souls). Each song is several minutes too long, several eclipsing the sacred ten minute mark.
Finally, the Christian lyrics would make even somebody devout roll their eyes. When “Holy Spirit / Holy Spirit / The only creator / The one who can give you life / Lord of existence / The imperishable flame” is sung in “Scene Five: The Imperishable Flame,” I almost threw up and certainly turned away from God, switching my music over immediately to Mayhem. The trite lyricism isn’t nearly as ambitious as the music, but it’s generally the same level of quality. I respect Ben Baruk’s efforts and want him to refine his craft, but if he is to promote his religious beliefs in this manner, he needs to present them with a compositional medium of care.
Recommended tracks: Scene One: II. Cognitive Dissonance, Scene Seven: Fall of the Firstborn
You may also like: Max Enix, Geres, Culak
Final verdict: 3/10
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Facebook | Instagram | Metal-Archives page
Label: Vision of God Records
Ben Baruk is:
– Lais Cunha (drums)
– Rafael Rodrigues (guitars)
– André Fernandes (guitars, vocals)
– Maria José(vocals)
– Cadu Matos (bass)
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