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Payne's Gray - Kadath Decoded CD (album) cover

KADATH DECODED

Payne's Gray

 

Progressive Metal

4.03 | 27 ratings

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UMUR
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
3 stars Payne´s Gray sole album Kadeth Decoded were released in 1995. I remember reading reviews of this album back then in metal magazines. The album was highly praised by most reviewers in 1995. If I had to review it in 1995 I would probably have given it more credit than I will in this review because back then this was a pretty groundbreaking release because of the two lead singers in the band. Much water has run under the bridge since then though and this is one of those albums that has suffered a bit of old age in the meantime.

I actually caught Payne´s Gray live in 1996 supporting Psychotic Waltz on the Bleeding tour. They were a very good live band and it was in the live environment you really understood that they were a unique band. The two singers complimented each other and the stage presence of two singers just seemed very powerful ( Of course Psychotic Waltz blew them away, but that´s another story).

Well the music on Kadeth Decoded is very keyboard and synth driven. The term metal should only be used loosely here as there are lots of songs on Kadeth Decoded without guitar and when guitars appear it´s mostly acoustic. There are some heavy guitar parts here and there though. The lyrics are based on H.P. Lovecraft´s infamous horror stories which is great for a Lovecraft fan like me. The music is pretty impressive technically and the compositions are very challenging. If you´re a keyboard freak you should definitely check out this album as keyboardist Tomek Turek is pretty fantastic and innovative. My problem here is unfortunately with the two lead singers who might have comlimented each other well in a live environment but falls flat on their face on this studio recording. There´s nothing wrong with their voices even though there is a slight german accent. They are high pitched metal singers so in that respect they don´t stand out from most progressive metal bands. It´s the melody lines and the way the harmony vocals are arranged that annoys me. It´s probably an aquired taste but it ruins much of my listening pleasure that´s for sure.

The musicianship is really good on the album and again I´ll mention Tomek Turek as the most shining light on this album. Classically trained I pressume.

The production is a bit weak and allthough it doesn´t ruin the music it´s sometimes an unnesseccary distraction.

Kadeth Decoded is a pretty unique album and had the singing been to my liking I would have rated it 4 stars. As it is I´ll only rate it 3 stars though. If you want to hear something unique and challenging and you´re not annoyed by the vocals like I am this will probably be a treat.

UMUR | 3/5 |

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