Cipher System-Central Tunnel Eight

I have been meaning to review this album for quite some time now and since their second album has just been released, I decided that I should do a 2-part review series of both of Cipher Systems albums. So this is part-1: Central Tunnel 8. I first heard this album when I was in my early death metal stages. I was borrowing CDs from the library of any metal band I could find. I would say that this was happening from 2007-2009. So I probably got a hold of this album in early 2008. And before any of you jump on me for not supporting the band, I HAVE bought the CD (both of them actually) to show my support for them, because this album is nothing short of amazing.

I know that everyone goes through the stage when they first start listening to the death metal area to where anything that’s heavy and loud is awesome. And after a few years, you start to be able to tell the difference between a good and bad metal band and start to develop a taste for certain kinds of metal. I was listening to these guys during that stage where I was impressed by anything that had screaming/growling and distorted guitars. So now I’m writing this review almost four years later, and I think even better of it than I did when I was in middle school.

I would have to say that my favorite member of this band is their keyboardist. The album kicks off with a really low tone that shifts into the keyboardist playing the lead guitar part before any of the other instruments start playing. He also does the outro track, which is actually my favorite track off the album. The outro has a really atmospheric and melodic sound that actually shifts into a really upbeat/happy mood. I would highly recommend listening to it even if you’re not much of a fan of the really softer stuff. I’m pretty sure that none of you have heard of this guy, but this outro track really reminds me of the new age stuff done by Patrick O’Hern (most of you probably haven’t heard of him).

The most well-known track off of this album is Hours Left, which is also my favorite actual song on this album. Another thing that I think I should mention is that this isn’t super melodic like the majority of melodic death bands out there. Most of the melody actually lies in the parts that the bassist and the keyboardist play. But on songs like C.S.I., Sufferstream, and the end of Hours Left, there’s a really atmospheric vibe.

This album is amazing, I’ve always loved it. I would highly recommend listening to this album before listening to Communicate the Storms so that you have an idea of their original sound. This gets a perfect score.