Keen is an industrial metal band from Sulmona, Italy. This band exists of the following individuals: Dr. Irham, Dr. Kevin, Dr. Shirley, Dr. Gray and Dr. Critz. People who think that their rehearsal room is some kind of vivisection lab in the local university might be wrong though. Keen already exists since 2003, and says to make ‘a mix of melodies, aggressiveness, involving rhythms and electronic sampling.’ They already did a few releases before this one: Love With Bile (2003), Love With Bile (re-release? 2005) and Dying Life (2005), which makes Dramas in Formaldehyde their fourth release (singles not included). It consists of ten tracks, ready to be discovered.

‘Rejection’ turns out to be an intro, which is followed by the title song of the album, ‘Dramas in Formaldehyde’. It’s a wellconstructed mix of industrial, metal and gothic. The vocals of Dr. Shirley vary from screaming to more dark and lower vocals, which already illustrates the talent in the very first real track! ‘I Don’t Care’ comes next. This is my favourite track of the album, with a protounding bassline, bashing programming works and wicked guitarlines. The piano intermezzo and the catchy chorus give this song an extra vibe, which cannot be denied. ‘Stuntman’ is a little more uptempo, with brutal programming and very wicked sampling works. The vocal lines are surprisingly gentle compared with the more chaotic sampling parts, but it fits the song quite well. The best part of the track is when you’re at 1:25, with the excellent synth lines that are followed by the icy screams. ‘Step By Step’ is again a more gentle track, built on a cool synth line and powerful programming. The variety on the vocals are exposed in an excellent way on this track. ‘Lost My Pride’ opens with a future pop likely synthline, and what follows is a more than decent industrial metal track. Rammstein likely riffs are mixed with some cool samples and synth parts, which is an exceptional thing of course. ‘Dead in Vain’ is again a little more uptempo and atmospheric. Powerful programming works, catchy vocal lines and cool synth parts are spread all over the song. ‘Can Feel’ is the final track of the album. It turns out to be some kind of ballad, and definitely shows a different side of the band. The courage they show by adding this track to the album has been rewarded, because although its more or less the contrary of the other songs, I must admit that I really like it.

Thirty-three minutes of music, and its already over before you actually notice it. Time flies when you’re having fun indeed. Fans of bands like Marilyn Manson, The Kovenant, Deathstars and Turmion Kätilöt should really check this out... and all the others too! It’s surpising to find out that this band still hasn’t found a label deal... some out there might have too much shit in their ears!

Vote: 98 / 100

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