Conspiracy Of Thought is an industrial hard rock band from Riverside, California. They have recorded ‘Deus Ex Machina: God from the Machine’ EP (2004), ‘Dance Of The Revolution’ (2005), ‘Colorblind’ (2007) and ‘Nothing More Than Light’ (2009). The line-up is Ben Stewart (lead vocals, guitar), Michael Parshall (bass, vocals, rap), Tony Vasquez (drums, electronic percussion, sequencing), and Devanand Bassanoo (lead guitar, backing vocals, keyboard). Their sound has been compared to Tool, Nine Inch Nails, Rage Against The Machine and POD.
They take the stance of political and social activists. As far back as March 2006 they openly questioned the war on Iraq (at a time when it was unpopular to do so).
It opens with an announcement “What kind of nation do we wish to be. Do we want to be a country where the rich get richer and the poor get poorer or do we want a country committed to an economy that provides for the common good?” There are slamming beats, heavy riffing and gothic vocals in ‘Phoenix Rising’. The title track has a melodic start with violin “In cyberspace I’m finding out there’s nothing more than light / And it brings me back to darkness / And the darkness back tonight” before crushing riffs and “I searched for something in this world that could be true / In all my life I’ve searched for something that something’s you”.
The themes cover politicians and corporate donations (This Broken Heart), racial bigotry (Mississippi) and car pollution (Breathe). They change styles in ‘Blowback’ with Michael rapping and playing heavy slapped bass. They also hit out at global hunger and poverty (The Plan), rape as a weapon of war (The Rape), and stem cell experiments (Genome). They do an alternative version of the title track as ‘NMTL HHX’ which sounds like a classical composition with electronica. Finally, ‘Back To Back’ is another rap with dark edged metal. This is for free-thinkers who like their music with a social conscience.
Rating: 8/10
Reviewed by Peter John Willoughby
Track listing:
What Kind of Nation
Phoenix Rising
Nothing More Than Light
Other Side
This Broken Heart
Mississippi
Breathe
Blowback
The Plan
Right
The Rope
Control
Genome
Artifice
Walls
NMTL HHX
Back2Back ’09
Bandmembers:
Ben Stewart- vocals/guitar/sequencing/keyboards
Tony Vasquez- drums/electronic percussion
Michael Parshall- bass guitar/vocals
Devanand Bassanoo- guitar/keyboard/vocals/sequencing
Record Label: Self Released / 2009
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