2008 Independently Released
Post-rock, Industrial

3 out of 5

With their debut album Escape/Restart, Parisian quartet Radius System offer up eight cuts somewhere between post-rock and industrial alt-metal in style. The songs combine the pummeling hard rock instrumentation and tortured vocals of Oceansize with the delicate piano motifs and electronic backing of 65daysofstatic and Woven, only with a more subdued use of synth beats. The result is an album that while leaving little question of its influences (the band's own promotions cite of the former two aforementioned groups), fuses them them effectively enough to create a fairly compelling yet emotionally draining listen. The first five tracks mostly plod along at a dreary mid-tempo until the explosive intro to Into Orbit finally stabs a ray of light onto the bleak landscape of minor-key guitar noise. The final two songs descend into near-ambience and then fall back down to a dirge-like conclusion.

While there's nothing terribly original here and the record feels a little monotonous in tone and mood, fans of the now-established genre that Radius System fits nicely into will doubtlessly enjoy the Escape/Restart.

At review time, this album was available for free download at http://www.archive.org/details/LostChildren046

Sounds like: A less spastic 65daysofstatic jams with Oceansize
Standout track: Into Orbit

—JC 2008