Album Review: The Disconnect

The Disconnect is the sophomore album from Christchurch’s finest Industrial Metal outfit, CyberManic. Formed in 2019 by James Williams (Vocals, Guitar, Synth) and Hannes Danielsson (Drums), they became a 3-piece with the addition of Amanda Gray on Bass in 2023, shortly after the release of their debut album, Cut To The Core, which I reviewed here. Sadly, shortly after recording and mixing the album, Hannes departed the fold due to too many other commitments (a fate suffered by all too many of Christchurch’s small supply of superb drummers). James and Amanda are, at the time of writing, actively seeking a replacement, so if you’re a drummer skilled in the way of the Heavy and you haven’t already considered joining CyberManic, kindly have a word to yourself, thanks.

The Disconnect kicks off with All Will Die. CyberManic sure do know how to write a tasty, tasty riff, All Will Die is utterly Balls-To-The-Wall from the get-go, a frenetic, aggressive guitar and bass attack with Hannes’ ridiculously tight drumming underpinning the onslaught. A blistering two-odd minutes of fury, with periodic brief half-timed bars that serve to amplify the sheer intensity of the main riffs. A fantastic, unrelenting start to the album. They have clearly grown as songwriters since Cut To The Core.

I’m a big fan of Amanda’s playing, and she certainly lays down the filth on Sick Of It. Lyrically, it speaks of self-loathing and wanting to destroy what is, in the hopes of a rebirth into something better. James has a kick-arse thrashy guitar tone, and he fair beats the poor six-stringed beastie to within an inch of its life, lots of balls and snarl. Their Punk proclivities come out on Embrace The Disconnect, plenty of smash-your-face-in attitude in this riff, with a distinctly metal half-timed chug to the pre-chorus, and the middle guitar solo section. I like James’ solos, much more emphasis on melody than on pure shredding, despite his obvious skill at deftly working his way around the fretboard at top speed.

Witness The Witless has an anthemic feel, in a magnificently mosh-inducing kind of way. Holy Vader’s Fist, what a mid-section. The guitar work in this part had me going “Faaaaaark yes!!” and dialing it back over and over again to completely immerse myself in six-stringed goodness. This album has been top-notch all the way through so far, but Witness The Witless is easily my favourite, with a half-timed outro that would even make your Grandma bust out the Stank-Face. Dead Weight has an intro with a decidedly different feel, a haunting piano arpeggio with biting guitar swells. It’s not long before the manic kicks in, though. I still can’t get over how much stronger their composition game has gotten in the last two years; this album shows huge growth and a next-level approach to songwriting. The piano part briefly takes over again at the halfway point, only to give way to a heavier, darker second half. I got a good chuckle out of the lyric “I lack the crayons and the time to show you your mistakes”, I’m sure we all know a few folks like that, I know I do.

War Painted Faces is a battle-cry for the ages. Very thrash influenced, with a thunderous and foreboding war-drum intro. This one, rightly so, has some of the most full-noise and vicious riffing of the album. From start to finish, it simply doesn’t let up. Lock up your loved ones, CyberManic are out for blood, and all shall perish. The final track of the seven is the first single form the album, Still Alive. This is classic CyberManic, very reminiscent of all of the best parts of Cut To The Core. This is an absolute banger of a single, displaying all of the myriad influences that have led to their particular sound. Elements of Punk and Metal fed into a colossal Industrial grinder, producing a uniquely excellent product that’s slick, polished, and very, very heavy.

Top-Shelf stuff, impressive and deadly. Get it in your earholes, now.