Hevein – Sound Over Matter
Hevein is a rock/thrash band featuring Max Lilja of Apocalyptica on Cello. It’s also complete bullshit. The guy isn’t anything more than a flawed cello player. Max can find pitch but he has no grasping of the stylistic components one hears in a godly string player like Annebjorg Lein (hardanger fiddle), the guy from Vasen, Mark O’Connor (violin), Yo Yo-Ma (Cello), Paul Mercer (Violin), Edgar Meyer (double bass and a personal favorite), or anyone who has adopted a unique playing style in the very competitive string world. I don’t find anything remarkable about having an incompetent player of a foreign instrument in a metal context. It isn’t insulting to my personal tastes as much as amusing that this band no doubt receives wonderful reviews worldwide. That doesn’t change the fact that Max Lilja has nothing on his resume other than a Metallica cover band not too far from what we all had in junior high/high school at one time or another. It makes sense when you think about it. If you know you aren’t good enough to compete with half-decent players in your field, you might as well join a crust, punk, or metal band where you can “shine”. Lets move away from Max for a moment and explore why Hevein is just a bad listening experience as a whole. While cello and violin play an important role, there is indeed a band beneath them that find themselves in a nu metal/rock hybrid with the most disgustingly commercial aspects any self-respecting metalhead would vomit upon. This isn’t to say that the listener who enjoys extreme metal doesn’t occasionally listen to more commercial music or enjoy background music lacking complexities. I just have to assume that most people (including myself) would separate those two worlds when they espouse the principles of objectivity in extreme metal. To easily discern commercial music and extreme metal becomes less apparent as the popularity of joining the two flourishes in modern culture. Hevein isn’t as difficult to categorize as hard as they want you to think they are. This is pop music. The vocals have the tough guy screams contrasting the common sensationalist clean vocals that are not only unconvincing but barely accomplished. The saving grace is the lyrics any young kid could grasp due to their inexplicable nature. “I’m only human but I did the best I could… I’m doing the best I caaaaaaa-aaaannn…. Living life like a butterfly… Try to wash you awwwaaay.” Apocalyptica was on Mercury Records and they obviously had no interest in Hevein. So where does that leave Candlelight’s involvement? “Men are apt to prefer a prosperous error to an afflicted truth.” Enjoy the short ride, guys. -TRA
SPINEFARM/CANDLELIGHT
Worm Gear 