Genre : Djent, Metalcore, Nu-metal
Released : September 27, 2019
Label : Arising Empire
FFO : Kadinja, Periphery, Korn, 90's nu/alternative metal
When Kadinja announced out of nowhere that they would be dropping a cover album of iconic 90's alt and nu-metal tracks, I was instantly hyped and curious to revisit these tracks that were an essential part of my teenage life.
I packed my bags for the biggest nostalgia trip of the year and became eager to see how the French djent wizards in Kadinja were going to reinvent these songs by infusing them with their dynamic, technical and creative brand of modern metal.
(If you haven't already, check out their 2014 self-titled EP and the two albums ("Ascendancy" and "Super 90's") they released prior to "DNA" ).
"DNA" follows up on this theme of paying hommage to the 90's decade which was one of the main ideas behind it's predecessor, "Super 90's".
You can tell that this was a very special project for the band and that they had fun revisiting these songs. In fact, if I had to use a single word to sum up this project, "fun" would be it.
This becomes quite clear from the very first seconds of the album, with it's purposefully ridiculous intro to Limp Bizkit's "Hot Dog".
Kadinja's signature groovy style of djent and, at times, oriental guitar arrangements fit perfectly with the overall style of nu-metal and breathes new life into the genre.
The album is at it's peak during the middle section with its Deftones, Marilyn Manson and Slipknot covers where the band goes absolutely HAM on the arrangements for those songs.
I wish they had gone as crazy on their cover of Korn's "Falling Away From Me", even though I must say that breakdown at the end melted off my face.
Unfortunately though, the album falls a bit flat with its last three songs in my opinion.
Perhaps this is due to the choice of songs themselves or the way they are placed within the album's cycle, although System of a Down's " Aerials" is a smart choice to close the album since it is also the closer for the album "Toxicity" in which it appears, thus reinforcing the nostalgia factor this project is all about.
Aside from the three last tracks not being as entertaining and wild as the rest of the album, I would occasionally find myself distracted from the music due to Philippe Charny's french pronounciation, which is odd since this has never bothered me with their previous releases, although I can see how this aspect gives the project its own authentic charm.
Is it good? Absolutely! Is it Kadinja's best material? Probably not; but it is an extremely fun project, made with love and will leave you thinking that you have to get up early for high school tomorrow and that you still have to finish that assigment that's been bothering you for a week. In that, Kadinja succeeds in taking the listener on a nostalgia trip while making the songs even heavier, groovier and sometimes even more interesting than they were originally!
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