“If there is a God, then we have to deal with a very unprofessional one.” This thought, of Blaz Erzetic, is where the name Amateur God hails from. The solo-project started out as dark ambient, but on this album it has altered its course to a more pop-oriented sound.
The album-title then hails from VoiVod, a metal-band, who asked in one of their 1993 songs, “What will I find, around the corners of my mind”. And this is not the only Voivod influence that’s on the album, like for example the classical intro, starring a deformed music-box.
The album is meant to be like an alpine landscape, balanced, cold but beautiful and dangerous. And it succeeds in that, the sounds are cacaphonous at times, then again well-balanced. It always fits the texts that mainly deal with insanity and the way to there, but also touches on immortality, the search for the self and visions.
On this album there is a guest role for female vocals on many of the tracks and this really adds to the album as a whole. The voice is eery at times, full the next moment, strong but distant, it presents the dualities of this album in a beautiful way. Then again, mainly due to the omnipresent character of this voice, it feels like it is overused at times.
Still here is an album that is well worth listening to, doesn’t bore the listener too fast (though I find I can’t listen to it twice in a row either and sometimes get bored during my first listen), indeed does open itself more when you listen to it for the Xth time.
As an extra the award-winning (at the 3rd festival of Slovene Animation) video for “Openminded” is on the cd as well. A song that doesn’t do that much to me, but the video looks very good indeed.
