Artist: THE AGONIST
Album: PRISONERS (CD)

Year: 2012
Media type: CD

Imagine the mind of a schizophrenic. At times placid and serene and at others a whirlwind of anger and aggression. A maelstrom of thought and sound, constantly at odds with one another, is what lies at the core of Canada’s The Agonist. Combining elements that draw from numerous metal subgenres to create a whole that is much greater than the sum of its parts, their new album Prisoners picks up where 2009’s Lullabies for the Dormant Mind left off, with a dizzying array of musical time changes, complex riffing and lyrics as dense and heady as Stephen Hawking drowned in a sea of lead. Guitarist Danny Marino explains, “Musically we have pushed our boundaries even further than on Lullabies. We have really challenged ourselves in both musicality and in patience.”

Their attention to detail and willingness to paint outside of the lines pays off in spades with Prisoners, highlighting The Agonist’s place among metal’s fearless sonic innovators.

Recorded in their hometown of Montreal with producer Christian Donaldson (Cryptopsy), and mixed and mastered by no less that Tue Madsen (The Haunted, Dark Tranquillity, Suicide Silence) Prisoners is heavy stuff indeed, both lyrically and musically. Lead vocalist Alissa White-Gluz, an ardent animal rights activist and advocate for cruelty-free living, wields her vocabulary like a rapier, thrusting and parrying lyrical phrases that will have listeners running to their thesauruses, physics books and dog-eared copies of Kafka alike. “I have this huge existential war going on in my head about life, death and freedom and I also do my best to live in a way that promotes respecting all forms of life. On top of that, I intentionally wrote some songs to be “sophisticated” - that is, not “easy listening” at all. You need a tuned ear and patience to fully appreciate some of these songs.” White-Gluz explains. Musically, the album offers no easy out either. Times shift, melodies manifest themselves and entangle themselves, serpentine, throughout tracks and parts of tracks, engaging the listener and forcing him or her to be present to grasp the full scale and complexity of the album. Danny adds, “I have come to learn which chord progressions Alissa can really take to amazing places vocally. Particularly in a melodic chorus or bridge I will sometimes purposely select a chord progression because I know she can do something really great with it. On the other hand I will also sometimes bring something to the table which I’m sure would challenge any vocalist in the world. Sometimes those end up being the best parts on the album because both the vocalist and instruments make something they never thought possible.”

All songs written and composed by The Agonist.

TRACKLIST:
No. Title Length 

1. "You're Coming with Me"   5:35
2. "The Escape"   4:08
3. "Predator & Prayer"   5:04
4. "Anxious Darwinians"   5:23
5. "Panophobia"   3:54
6. "Ideomotor"   8:07
7. "Lonely Solipsist"   3:45
8. "Dead Ocean"   6:19
9. "The Mass of the Earth"   4:40
10. "Everybody Wants You (Dead)"   5:00
11. "Revenge of the Dadaists"   6:42

LINE-UP:

Alissa White-Gluz - lead vocals
Danny Marino - guitars
Pascal "Paco" Jobin - guitars
Chris Kells - bass, backing vocals
Simon McKay - drums, percussions