Album Review: Subscribe - Bookmarks

If one were to pinpoint a geographical area of the world as being the pulse of metal they are likely to say Europe. That diverse continent is the birthplace of many subsets of metal and remains responsible for much of the genre’s album sales and talent. Sweden has basically become synonymous with hard, melodic metal and Norway will never escape being the origin of the infamous black metal scene. One country that practically never enters the conversation however is Hungary, though hopefully that is on the way to changing. One of their rising acts is the band Subscribe, a hungry sextet that throws many styles of rock and metal (and much more) into a blender for your enjoyment. Bookmarks is their third album and one that is bound to attract more devotees to their peculiar brand of metal-tinged madness.

After the instrumental intro, Subscribe set about their two-part epic ‘Anxiety Found In The Shape Of Contradiction’. It does an excellent job of displaying their credentials; unusual rhythms, multi-lingual lyrics, all with a veneer of high energy modern metal. The dancing, cascading riffs of ‘Bitter Boundary’ follow from there. It recalls System of a Down as does the lilting melody of singers Mate Tilk and Balint Csongor. They are clearly students of the game; gathering influence from many styles of music and focusing them through their vocal double-act.

After the thunderous beginning of the album, the band cools their jets slightly on songs like the bizarrely titled ‘Books For The Dyslexic’. It is underpinned by light electronics, proggy keyboards, and a slinky rhythmic bass line. ‘Orchitis’ has the swagger of hardcore thrash despite its dalliances in rap-rock. This is indeed a strange musical stew that they are brewing. Not everything is pure, unabashed metal; Subscribe are not afraid to get their hands dirty and mix things up. At the half-way mark pianos start to play a greater role in overall sound, such as the tender ‘Miles Away’ that gives way to the almighty ‘Between Heaven And Her’. Moments of blissful metal give way to dub-influenced soundscapes before being ripped back into surging heaviness. Bookmarks ends with the Faith No More-esque ‘Gay Rodeo’. It is a goofy slice of lounge-y funk metal that ends the album on a fun note, complete with cheesy chorus and free-jazz breakdowns.

Bookmarks is one of the most eclectic and perverse metal releases of 2011 that should appeal to metal fans of all creeds and walks of life. While you may not know much about the contemporary music of Hungary you should make yourself aware of Subscribe. They have stood toe-to-toe on stage with such revered acts as Deftones, Katatonia, and Meshuggah and left with their heads held high. If Subscribe are anything to go by then the future of Hungarian music is bright indeed.

Rating: B+