JIHAD -
A Prayer in the Night
Songs: 9 Time: 52:18
A long time coming, the debut release from
Jihad has finally arrived. A Prayer in the Night combines
darkened vocals with pulsating, slightly enigmatical electro. What began as
Benestrophe eventually split to form two separate entities, Mentallo &
the Fixer and Jihad. On A Prayer in the Night you can definitely hear some
similarities to M&tF, but not enough to make their sound a photo copy of what
the Dassing brothers are doing. Guardian Angel blends semi growled, deep
vocals with light melodies and a pounding rhythm. None of the songs are
mindlessly aggressive or fast sounding, but rather mid paced pieces with the
propensity to be danceable. Way underneath the beats and rhythm of Grains of
Sand you can hear an amazing wet synth line. Over top of it all is the
unmistakable vocalization of Rich Mendez. His vocals are the type that are
easily recognizable and stand apart from many of the typical manipulated
delivery of many electro artists. To go along with the vocals are decent lyrics
that are both creepy and soothing all at once. While the actual lyrics aren’t
abrasive themselves, coupled with the style they are delivered give them an
eerie edge. This is especially true on the final track, Specter. The
lyrics are surreal, the music is ghostly, and the vocals are haunting. The
combination of these three things leads to a track that should not be listened
to in the dark. I was pleasantly surprised with the album as a whole. What I
had expected to be a decent album with a few standout tracks turned out to be a
great album with every track holding its own ground.
RAS DVA RECORDS
Jihad
is:
407 Vine St. Ste. 272
James Mendez
/ Rich Mendez
Cincinnati, OH 45202-2806
Tel 1-215-925-5324
e-mail:
rasdva@juno.com
RAS DVA
homepage:
http://www.execpc.com/~pinedell/rasdva.html