Up-and-coming metal outfit The Offering released its latest album, Seeing The Elephant Friday through Century Media Records. The band’s second album and third overall studio recording, this 10-song record is an intriguing new presentation from the Boston-based group. That is due in large part to its featured musical arrangements, which will be discussed shortly. The lyrical content that accompanies the album’s musical arrangements on the other hand is somewhat of a concern. It will be discussed a little later. The record’s production works with the overall content to make for at least some more interest. When those two elements are considered together (and with the record’s lyrical content) the whole makes Seeing The Elephant a mostly successful new offering from The Offering that the metal masses will agree is worth hearing at least once.
Seeing The Elephant, the sophomore album from The Offering, is a mostly successful new effort from the up-and-coming metal outfit. Its success comes in large part through its musical arrangements. The record’s musical content is noteworthy because of its diversity. The musical presentation featured here exhibits quite the growth from the band since the release of its debut self-titled EP back in 2019. The same sort of Devin Townsend-esque riffs that made up so much of that record’s musical foundation is just as present here as in that record, but so are the screaming, extreme metal riffs that made that record so enjoyable. At the same time, there are some more unique moments featured here, such as the tension in the anti-rap song, ‘Tipless.’ The short song, which comes across as being told from the standpoint of a rape victim, has an air of being diabolical in nature. That tension, juxtaposed by the soft approach to the song really makes for such a clearly intended discomfort among listeners. It really does well to illustrate what a victim of that heinous crime must feel. On another note, there is the arrangement featured in ‘Ghost Mother,’ which presents something more of an industrial vibe a la Static-X. The fire in this song works just as well with the clear social commentary about the impact of society on children when society doesn’t care. The almost droning nature of the album’s title track changes things even more as it presents a sound and approach very similar to that used by A Perfect Circle in its song, ‘Counting Bodies Like Sheep To The Rhythm of the War Drum.’ It doesn’t use the same industrial approach, but the general stylistic approach is definitely there. It is a start contrast to so much of the album’s content and is just as certain to engage audiences. When it is considered alongside the diversity examined here and with the diversity in the rest of the record’s songs, the whole makes the album’s musical content a solid foundation for its presentation.
While the musical arrangements featured throughout this album make for a solid foundation for its presentation, the lyrical content that accompanies the arrangements strengthens that foundation only a little bit. That is because so much of the content featured in this record is dated. The whole thing opens with a clear commentary on the actions of former President Donald Trump and his cult members in W.A.S.P. and just how evil those masses are. ‘Ghost Mother,’ the record’s second track, is a commentary seemingly about the degradation of the American family, and is pretty clear in its delivery, as well as intense. It is one of a handful of songs featured here whose lyrical themes is not dated along with ‘Tipless,’ the noted anti-rape song. That song is powerful in its lyrical and musical presentation alike. ‘Rose Fire,’ which comes almost halfway through the album, is another song that is dated. It is a reference to the Rose City Antifa group’s protests in Portland, Oregon to police violence during the year, which saw a lot of violence from law enforcement. It is another powerful statement, but is again very dated. The album’s title track is another reference to the violence of 2021, including protests and police brutality, so again, here is more dated material. As if that is not enough, ‘Flower Children,’ which comes later in the record’s second half, if more dated content as it takes the term “boomer” to address the generation gap that has created its own share of tension in America. Yes, the matter of the whole ‘OK, Boomer’ issue is important to address, considering the rift that it has created in America today. Regardless, it is still dated. There is no getting around that. In other words, while there is some hard hitting content here, lyrically speaking, the album is still very dated overall in said content. To that end, the lyrical content somewhat builds on the foundation formed by the record’s musical content, but not by a whole lot.
What does help to build on the album’s foundation is the production that went into its overall presentation. Considering the variety of styles and sounds that The Offering presents in each song, a lot of attention had to be paid to each song to make sure each composition had the strongest possible impact. That work paid off, too. Each song’s instrumentation is well-balanced from one to the next, and even the vocals are well-balanced with the instrumentations. The result in each song is a presentation that will engage audiences just as much for its general effect as for its content. When this is considered along with the album’s overall musical content and even its lyrical content, the whole makes the album in whole a mostly successful new offering from The Offering.
Seeing The Elephant, the sophomore album from The Offering, is an interesting addition to this year’s field of new hard rock and metal albums that is worth hearing at least once. That is due in large part to its featured musical arrangements. The arrangements are varied from one to the next in their sounds and styles. The lyrical themes that are presented throughout the album present a lot of dated material alongside a handful of more standard works that are themselves still very hard hitting in their commentary. They neither add to nor take away from the album’s presentation, sadly. The record’s production puts the finishing touch to its presentation. That is because of the general effect that it creates within the album’s presentation. Each item examined here is important in its own way to the whole of Seeing The Elephant. All things considered they make the album an intriguing new effort from The Offering.
Seeing The Elephant is available now through Century Media. More information on the album is available along with all of The Offering’s latest news at:
Website: https://theofferingmusic.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theofferingmusic
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