Sole Remedy – Apoptosis
"Apoptosis", the second full-length release from Finland's Sole Remedy, is a strange beast. Largely unclassifiable, they manage to go from atmospheric, radio-friendly rock to crushing metallic riffing with ease. According to the sleeve notes this is a concept album, but if so I haven't managed to figure out what it's about (though, judging by the title, I'm assuming it involves 'programmed cell death' in some way). Fortunately a clear understanding of the concept isn't necessary to enjoy the album.
The first track on the album, Comatose, is a meditative, slow-burning number; beginning with a drum & stick rhythm and then adding a somewhat mournful vocal to a simple arpeggiated melody, this starts things off with a melancholic feel which is carried in varying degrees through the album. During the rest of the ten tracks on the album the band manage to include swirling acoustic guitars, RSI-inducing leads, wonderfully syncopated drumming and occasional gutteral, almost death metal vocals, which contrast with the more often used melodic singing. They even manage to include a funky slap bassline to one track (The Undertow). At times surprisingly melodic and just as often surprisingly heavy, Apoptosis is held together throughout its many moods by some impressively adroit drum beats.
In this age of genre obsession Sole Remedy are a tricky band to pin down, and their versatility and refusal to be pigeonholed is likely to limit their appeal for those who like to label what they're listening to. If, on the other hand, your musical tastes are not genre-defined, but instead based on solid musicianship, variety and originality, then Sole Remedy may be just what you need.