Review by JD on August 18, 2010.

With a name like Eclectika I was not sure of what really to expect of this band from the heart of the France countryside. I was both quite uncertain yet extremely curious all at the same time... so I cleared that all aside in my head and just played the damn thing. What I got from the band, was a real and very honestly... a surprise.

Straddling the musical lines between the fury of Death/Black Metal, unexpectedness of Experimental, the clamour of Industrial with almost a sort of grinding tilt as well. Eclectika explodes and cuts into you like a shrapnel bomb on bared skin. Speeding drums and almost molten guitars slash through your cortex like a welding torch on butter as the gravel filled vocals tells tales that would chill the soul. Molten lava pales in comparison to the flames that explode from each and every note.

It is a nearly an exorbitant sort of sound that Eclectika has, to the point of being jumbled and not very cohesive in spots, but clearly it is the way that it has been recorded that makes it feel so out-of-control. I don’t mind the wall of noise thing, as that is a rock an roll staple... but separation between instruments and vocals within that sonic wall is what makes or breaks an album.
Eclectika’s album is almost like white noise, rather than some really good and explosive extreme music. I hear talent oozing out all over the place, but it is overshadowed by the recording. If they back off the wall thing, this would be one very blasting album. Right now it is just interesting. If they have the cash, they should re mix and release. They might be pleasantly
surprised at what is under the sludge factor of their album.

There is a very shiny diamond of great metal nestled amongst the piles of crap that is around it, wash the crap away, and you’ll see it. Eclectika is on the verge of doing it right... I await to see.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship:8
Atmosphere: 7 (recording does this)
Production: 5
Originality: 8
Overall: 7.5

Rating: 7.1 out of 10