Vorstellan - 'Encephalon' Album Review

Tracklist:

1. Monster

2. Novocaine

3. Avalanche

4. Home

5. A Thousand Smiles

6. Running Away

7. Burn

8. My Disaster

An interesting concept album based around what appears to be a therapy session.

'Encephalon' the debut album from Vorstellan starts with the openings of a counselling session asking the person in the room what answers they have to the questions they were asked last week in the previous session. For the next 35 minutes your lead through 8 songs that attempt to answer these questions. Vorsetellan have an Alt Rock sound and are clearly influenced by Placebo.

The lyrics on 'Encepalon' are very honest in regards to mental health and depression, the guys clearly are not afraid to look deep inside themselves (heading to some very dark places) in order to serve the songs. There is a good mix of heavy riffs and quiet passages adding to the subject matter on the songs.

The album does take you on a journey with little soundscapes and spoken word pieces to tie the whole counselling session together. For a debut album this is a brave move and you have to give the guys props for trying something this adventurous. It would have been nice to have seen a bit more variation in the music with some solos to mix things up and make the songs stand out a little more. As a concept I think there is a potential for something more memorable but that said, there is nothing on here that I dislike, it’s a solid opening album without the high spots to earn it a higher rating.