ALLIED VISION O.S. BANDWIDTH ALBUM INTERCRANEAL POSESSION RELEASE: NOVEMBER 1, 2003 REVIEW: SEPTEMBER 3, 2003

Oscar Storm from Bilbao in Spain has come back after two years to deliver his third Allied Vision album to the public and I must say that it is a mixed bag. On one hand you have some interesting song structures but on the other, you have the same tired mix of snarling vocals and heavily forced "cybernetic" attitude. The wannabe nihilism doesn't help, either.
There are plenty of tracks on here which are quite powerful in their approach and in their delivery but they fall short in one major area: originality. Any of these songs could be grafted into a number of other bands which I have heard over the years and there is not really a whole lot to say aside from this.
But if one puts away all the above reasoning and just listens for the sake of getting some aggression out of their system, then "O.S. Bandwidth" is quite excellent. The lead single "Coaxial Hardware" is every bit as high tech as the name suggests and will no doubt have many people in clubs jumping about and stomping the hell out of the floor. Oscar has learned to mix his vocals properly so that for the first time, Allied Vision has a balanced yet very unpoppy sound to them. Other tracks to check out would be "Vivid Scape", "Oxide Paradise" and "Aftermath".
In summation, a very well produced, highly evolved and exceedingly honed album that is best suited for the moments when you don't want to think all that much.

PETER MARKS