fudge: Dust To Come

Although Dust To Come is the debut full length release from =fudge=, this German ‘synth metal’ outfit have actually been in existence since 2012 and already have an EP and some film soundtrack work behind them. So what of the synth metal moniker I hear you ask (well, if you’re not curious, I am…)? But in all honesty that ‘game changer’ would appear to manifest itself as riff fuelled metal with occasion synth work thrown in for good measure. Think Marylin Manson glancing off Fear Factory and the schlock industrial metal you’d be left with now comes with a flavour of =fudge= on it. Now why the band have ‘equals signs’ either side of their name - other than to make it stand out on a press release - I’m not sure but in some ways that seemingly needless embellishment says a lot about Dust To Come. Rammed with some mighty riffage, the recipe is here for what could be a seriously bone crushing explosion and yet some strange choices dominate, allowing any momentum built up to slip away.

Take “Mechanical Human� for instance, guitarists Patron and Cyborg (yes, we’re in the realms of silly names) opening with a bulldozing fret salvo that’s then shied away from as bass excursions and synth stabs lessen the impact. Add in that singer Prophet, who also brings the synths to the party, has a reasonably one dimensional rasp attack and what could have been killer soon becomes forgettable. Time and again it seems to work this way, “Into The Whispers� - where synths blend with guitars much more menacingly - allowed to unwind into a mid-paced chug-along that lacks for any real threat, whereas “For Those Who Live In Fear� comes undone through a jaunty mid-song keyboard solo that just has no right interrupting the otherwise hard hitting guitars. Even with all that mind, this album’s biggest faux-pas arrives in the shape of “Dust To Come Pt.II�, a ten minute spoken word piece that appears three quarters of the way through proceedings with a story that I’m guessing is relevant to the rest of the songs. That we’re then ‘treated’ to what appears to be the album’s ‘thanks and credit list’ read out by Cyborg in a suitably cyborgian voice is a curious move indeed and while it may be a thrill for those involved to hear their name included slap bang in the middle of the album, in the long run it actually makes the longest track on this release (approximately one fifth of its running time) completely superfluous to everyone else. Very odd indeed.

At the risk of being unkind, I can’t quite shake off the notion that =fudge= genuinely think they are reinventing wheels with this album. That they are in actual fact playing it very safe and not really even making much of an impact as they do so makes Dust To Come, which arrives from the much respected AFM label, not so much a missed opportunity but a complete misfire.

Track Listing
1. Silently
2. Into the Whispers
3. The Summoning
4. GODS
5. Mechanical Human
6. I’m a Wolf
7. Death to Man
8. Dust to Come
9. Thousand
10. Reprise
11. Confession
12. For Those Who Live in Fear
13. Dust to Come pt. II
14. Bittersweet Revenge

Added: March 19th 2021
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: fudge online
Hits: 724
Language: english

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