Puissance - Total Cleansing CD Review

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Saturday, September 08, 2001 - 2:54:11 PM : wk
"Power, grief, contempt, melancholy, terror and an unnerving sense of
reality and recognition. Those words barely describe the emotions I felt
when listening to Total Cleansing. Once again the madmen of music strike
again with 8 tracks of supremely engineered soundscapes. This is a new
Puissance. Never before has the message been so cinvincing. Never before has
the music been so moving. Some might say the album is more accessible,
catchy even. What really counts is that this is the definate logical step in
the evolution of Puissance. The tracks we find on this CD are more song-like
than the previous Puissance releases, probably due to the fact that most of
the material is quite vocally oriented, we even find a chorus here and
there. Fredrik's vocals sound melancholic and full of grief which creates a
sense of despair. And the spoken parts provide the militant, totalitarian
feel, we are familiar with. Yet, they are spoken out of wisdom and carry a
feeling of knowledge.You can still find the trademark Puissance sound,
interwoven with new and fresh ideas. Industrial / ambient tracks balance the
album's overal feel . It's good to see that Puissance is one of the few
bands that dare to experiment and expand on a proven formula, without losing
their unique identity. For one you could easily play this cd at a family
meeting (and hope the people catch up on the brilliant lyrics, hehe) , but
for the more demanding listener it still provides a very serious experience.
Yes, Puissance delivers it again and managed to outclass themselves. "
Saturday, September 08, 2001 - 2:49:19 PM : Tombstone
This is the fifth full length album of the band and it's a good one. I haven't heard their previous album and I can't really comment if they have changed or something, but their new one is certainly an album worth listening. They are playing atmospheric ambient music with industrial elements and with an apocalyptic feeling. Like they are describing a future world, long dead from the final world war and with the nuclear winter leaving nothing uninfluenced. It's dark and nightmarish but it also has a weird charm that no one can deny. It could easily be the soundtrack of a science fiction movie, since the music has this film score feeling to it. It's easy to picture the music and create scenes inside your mind, by listening to Puissance. A good album, with good production that might be ideal for a brake from metal and screaming guitars.
Monday, August 20, 2001 - 2:48:57 PM : Rotboiler
Musically, this is very mellow stuff, compared anyway to Puissance's first two releases ("Let us lead" and "Back in Control"). A mix of instrumentals and spoken-word-over-creepy-ambient tracks. The lyrics/spoken words are foolish at times, effective at others. But overall I find this an addictively dark album. Recommended!