I'd like to know what's happening with Anton's Blindness. Medicated Control is a compilation of tracks from two demos, recorded in 2009 and 2011, and remastered in 2025. Looking around I cannot work out if they are still around or not, it looks like they went on a hiatus not long after the 2011 sessions, whose songs were never fully mixed following the tragic passing of their engineer, Mark Wallace.
I bring all this up because I think there's a difference in how you listen to something like this, a relic, versus something current. Any slight imperfections are forgiven by the passage of time and it can take on a life as a genuine part of our historic culture.
Anyway, I'm rambling but it's interesting to me.
Anton's Blindness, at least in this context, are a metal band that I believe originated from Germany but migrated to Florida, fronted by Kim Lotus.
This album opens with a neat intro including a siren and synths that was apparently recorded during one of their gigs, which flows seamlessly into REFL3CTION, a bombastic statement of intent from the 2011 sessions. Two things are pretty clear - Kim's a fantastic singer, her voice sounds great here, and the second is that this is nu-metal music that I think was maybe a little unfashionable in 2009 but as far as my old man eyes can see has had a bit of a comeback in recent years. Anyway, the song is great (so great it appears on the album twice, with the 2009 version closing out the album).
Blind Faith, from the 2009 recordings, follows, and man it rocks. A seven minute epic where sombre pianos make way for big guitar riffs and, again, Kim's great vocals. There's more than a hint of Alanis Morissette to her delivery (I don't think that's a coincidence since later we get treated to a cover of her song Uninvited). Really, as good as the musicianship is with this band, it's all in service of Kim's singing in my mind.
It's a pity then, that some tracks have her so so so low in the mix. This is especially true of As I Die. Now I think there's a reason for this, I mentioned before that engineer Mark Wallace passed away before finishing the mixes, and so the mixes were never completed.
A relic, that's the word I used to describe this album earlier.
When I heard that song I hadn't yet read the context, but having read it, I'm glad they left it that way. It feels not only a way to honour Wallace, but also adds an emotional beat to the story behind this release. The imperfections of the album are forgiven by the passage of time.
The rest of the album honestly plays out largely the same as what we've already heard, for better or worse. Kim's vocals are still excellent. Songs are big and crunchy and raw, especially on Mine, but it does start to feel a little samey by the end. Even the aforementioned cover, Uninvited, blends in with the rest of the album.
Still, I had a great time listening to this album. I had a great time reading about it and trying to figure out where Anton's Blindness are now. I had a great time writing about it. I'd definitely recommend checking it out.