Crashpoint is an alt-metal/nu-metal Czech band who released their second album Millions of Figurines (Crystal Productions) in 2008. Just so the nu-metal label doesn’t turn anyone off before they get into the body of this review, Crashpoint is closer in sound to experimental side of the genre (specific points of comparison are bands like System of a Down and Tool) rather than bands like Limp Bizkit. Crashpoint is evidently looking for a wider international exposure as a review copy of the band’s 2008 disc just came across to me from the band’s record company.

Millions of Figurines is subtly complex as the band’s music can seamlessly drop from chugging metal guitar riffs accompanied by a death-metal roar into a soft piano and lilting acoustic guitar, all within a few seconds. Added to this are cinematic sound bytes which range from the dialogue from the movie Spun (which starts off the disc) to George Bush defending the Patriot Act. Vocalist Hanzi sings in clear English and his delivery combines the warbled vocal histrionics of Serj Tankian with the emotive power of Maynard James Keenan.

Musically, the band is able to shift in style from song to song, which goes a long way toward making each of the songs distinctive and memorable. “Bound” prominently features a rubbery bass line and sounds like something from Alice in Chains’ “Unplugged” period, “In Penumbra” has a distinctive middle-eastern guitar riff that take the song into SOAD (or even Page and Plant) territory and “Medusa Eye” builds from a progy intro into a techno-pulsing instrumental which is backed by George Bush’s sound bytes. The most distinctive song is rawly emotive, acoustic melancholia of “Room No. 13”.

I can easily see why Crystal Productions is trying to bring some visibility to Crashpoint’s music as the band’s sound will resonate well with fans of the bands that have played Ozzfest, Family Values and similar styled festivals.

Links:
Crashpoint's MySpace Profile
Crashpoint's Website