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Artist: State of Being
Title: Haywire
Label: Reverse Image
Release Date: June 2004
Genre: Rock, Electronic, Industrial
http://www.stateofbeing.com
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Bands that are promoted as being similar to Stabbing Westward always get my attention. It is not that I particularly enjoy Stabbing's sell-out pop sound. It is more of a search for an amazing electronic-industrial band I once saw in Chicago, but was too drunk to recall their name in the morning.
My travel planes were interrupted one fine morning in Illinois when I missed my connecting flight. Seeing as my associate and I had never been in Chicago before we decided to leave the airport and have a look around. We ended up in the downstairs restaurant section of a huge club. My friend and I sat at the bar, and ordered some drinks. The waitress came over with a big smile and asked us if we'd like some appetizers as well. She went on to say it was complimentary of course. Why was this we thought? Was this how Chicago treated their intoxicated guests or did we have a homeless aura about us? It turns out the whole place thought we were part of the band. We didn't tell her any difference and continued to suck back beer until she told us we had to go on stage....
What I was getting at was that I've been searching for this band and was hoping that Andy Kubiszewski's (Stabbing Westward, Prick) new prodigy would be the group I was mistaken for. However after listening to 'Haywire,' State of Being's third full length album, I am fairly certain that they are not the one.
Strangely, State of Being has strayed away from their Depeche Mode mimicking, which made their previous album 'Implosion,' accessible. Instead they have chosen to go with a rock-driven sound. Christopher Földi's voice is dull and unfeeling on 'Haywire' when compared to 'Implosion.' It becomes hard to listen to the rest of the band with Földi's monotone lyrics overpowering the tracks. When he sings, "let the bleeding start," on 'Beneath the Skin,' I had to check the stereo to see if I'd accidentally put in a cover CD called, 'So you always wanted to try and be like Sisters of Mercy but failed.'
Possibly it is my imagination but 'Haywire' seems less like art and more like an attempt to solicit to a wide pop audience. Each track on the disc has an appeal that a different market would enjoy. It is apparent that State of Being is hoping that one of their songs will make them a one-hit-wonder and get them out of Ohio. Track four, 'Whitespace,' has an electronic-industrial feel that is impressive and reminiscent of Nine Inch Nails. Track three feels like Alice in Chains; track five tries to be Metallica; track six echoes Thrill Kill Kult. However, after listening to the entire album I was still wondering what exactly State of Being sounded like. They definitely do not sound like something I wanted to buy.
...Back to what I was saying before. The club manger told us we were supposed to be on stage. We went out into this huge round tiered theater with a dome ceiling. My associate said, "I could use another beer." So we went on stage and stole two more bottles before we were escorted out.
- Nathan Feuerberg, HotIndieNews.com
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