Radius System - Escape/Restart

Hailing from Paris, France, Radius System create a musical blend of heavily distorted rock, electronica, and post-hardcore. Radius System's distorted side brings to mind bands such as Oceansize, Pitchshifter, and Cave In, while their experimental side is very reminiscent of Trent Reznor and Nine Inch Nail's industrial approach. Despite influences, the band sets out to build a complex musical identity, going beyond the realm of genres and song aspects. While the band has numerous releases, this review focuses on their 2008 album Escape/Restart. Escape/Restart is a musical, space-rock masterpiece as well as an epic visual journey. The album has eight total tracks where each track is accompanied by visuals that tell stories not only of violence, hope and despair, but also stories of nature, feelings, and energy.

Escape/Restart begins with the track "Release Chemicals" which starts the album off with a bang. Static sweeps and swirls start the track off, followed by loud, crushing industrial drumming, eventually leading into distorted, alternative, guitar enjoyment. The track radiates between highs and lows, and this is very reminiscent of the post-hardcore genre. The second track "Best Sellers" takes a more ambient and relaxed approach, full of light programmed beats. The space-rock aesthetic is most prominent in the third track "Monochrome". Eddy Duluc's guitar work and Jeremy Savry's drumming go hand-in-hand to create a light, yet rapid, melodic masterpiece. "Mental Guides" begins with swirling drops that lead into a distorted hardcore explosion. Tracks like "Impulsion Part 1" and "Impulsion Part 2" show off Radius System's lighter approaches to ambiance and melody, while still being crushing works of musical art. "Into Orbit" is a more electro-industrial track that contains highs and lows throughout. The final track "Not Coming Back" is very similar to "Into Orbit" with its electro-industrial approach and helps to show what the band does best, and that is incorporating rock and electronic music very beautifully and very carefully.

Radius System's Escape/Restart is definitely worth picking up and listening to. The music on the album is for any fan of space-rock and electro-industrial rock. Although the splicing and experimentation on the album may make the production somewhat off at times, this is just a part of experimenting with sound techniques. The music on Escape/Restart is significantly diverse and is part 1 of a greater project that the band hopes to release in the near future. The new project is said to come with a DVD along with the music, which will have an animated story to go along with each track. Do yourself a favor if you enjoy rock, electronic, or industrial music in general, and go buy yourself a copy of Radius System's Escape/Restart. I was very pleased with the outcome and I am sure you will be too.

Check out the track "Monochrome" off of Radius System's album Escape/Restart: