Resilience - Birth 2.0 (2012)

French project RESILIENCE was formed back in 2004, and the following year they had a demo tape ready and started working on their debut album. Following a four year long pause work commended again in 2011, and 2012 saw them release their debut album "Rebirth 2.0". Self-released as of now, but it would appear that they wouldn't mind getting some label interest for their production.

The creative heart of this band is Adeline Gurtner (vocals) and Benjamin Sertelon (guitars), and as one might surmise vocals and guitars are essential features in the music that has been crafted. The style resides somewhere in the realm of contemporary metal, and an accessible one at that.

The most striking detail of this album is a rather different one though, and one that first and foremost is found in the initial phases of their compositions. Intriguing and fairly innovative use of electronics, paired off with electric or acoustic guitars, creates compelling moods and atmospheres throughout. A brilliant approach the band might explore a bit more to my mind, as quite a few of them really made a grand impact. Instead Resilience opts to shift focus on to more conventional arrangements as the songs develop, frequently alternating between gentler passages and guitar riff driven constructions backed by the solid rhythms of Yann Van Eijk. Pleasant and fairly accessible metal with a strong mainstream orientation, with ample room for the lead vocals of Gurtner to soar, especially when the songs hit one of the tranquil phases obviously.

And when they opt to experiment also later on in the songs or for more elongated spans, not all of the more or less innovative approaches will sit too well with a core metal audience. The Fall, with some sort of twisted guitar version of modern R'n'B for instance, or the more techno-inspired electronic twists found on Rewind. Most certainly innovative and creative, but not material of the kind that will open the hearts of too many fans of acts like, say, Motorhead.

The album itself is a pleasant one though, I'll readily admit to that. With Introspection 2.0 as the high point for me, a piece that alternates between a purebred ballad expression and a harder edged metal style, with guest vocalist Daniel Gildenlöw's vocal talents elevating this piece into a a more intriguing experience by his sheer passionate delivery.

"Birth 2.0" is a promising debut album by a band that flirt with and utilize electronics and synths to good effect in an otherwise fairly mainstream oriented, accessible variety of contemporary metal. Not a brilliant beacon in the realm of metal, but one worth checking out by those with a taste for accessible metal bands that does incorporate a few sophisticated details into their material. That they have a female lead vocalist might also be a detail worth mentioning as for whether or not this is a production worth giving an initial spin.

My rating: 65/100
Track list:
1. Introspection
2. Aborted Freedom
3. Against the Tide
4. Mirror of Souls
5. Finally Be Me
6. The Edge of the Abyss Inside
7. Let Him Fly
8. The Fall
9. In the Hurry
10. Introspection 2.0
11. Threat
12. Rewind