HOLISSSTIK : "Chapter 1: This Endless Solitude"

 

This project emerged from Norway's Manes, which was pretty experimental to begin with, so this is not a huge leap. Stepping away from metal, but not forgetting to pack the guitars, there are some organic rock elements still in place. Female vocals that remind me of the Gathering sail along the opening track. Anna Murphy of Cellar Darling sings on this album, but there is a wide range of collaborators who contribute to a very expansive Massive Attack-like feel. It is not metal but aggressive for electronic music, though not industrial either, as it is too layered with atmosphere and not the kind of staccato stomp that genre works off.

"Projections" is even more dream-laden. It feels like if you took a nap while tripping and could not tell if you were asleep or still dreaming. This sounds cool, but it is more about the surreal sound than a song that hooks you in and gets stuck in your head. "Obsession Six" simmers in its ambiance a bit; it reminds me a little of Psychic TV. , Though the guitars have more of a metallic sheen. Then the patter of some manner of percussion resembles a blast beat bubbling under it. Hey, it's Norway. Hard to avoid all black metal influence, the more experimental years of Ulver could be a fair point of comparison. 

The cool robot vocals make up for the fact it's an atmospheric song; they are just kind of jamming out. I was also obsessed with the song "Mr Roboto." There is more form and function to "Would You Take This Heart" before they drift off into the abstract again for "Behind Me". There is a heavier element that is raging from within the song but does not have the sonic heft to get hte point fully across. They close the album with "This Endless Solitude". The song opens in a more introspective floating that finds layers of vocals creeping in along with a hypnotic electronic pulse. This vibe summarizes the album well as it displays a very fluid mix of electronic elements and organic rock instruments. I will give this a 9 as it excels at capturing the mood here. It drops on Season of Mist on August 14th. 

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