This Swiss band plays a dense dark punishing version of sludge. This is their seventh full length so they are well versed in the studio and there is no question that htey have dialed in the intended sound. There is a great deal of atmosphere on the first song with the growled vocals snarlign out with more agony than anger. There are touches of black metal in how the drums attack the song, but mainly stays to variations of it's apocalyptic throb. Rather than song titles every thing is referred to as a movement. The second movement is less sprawling and more experimental. There are electronic almsot industrial sounds leading in as the vocals cry out over an otherwise sparse arrangement. This breathing room provides a nice contrast for the more crushing riff to fall upon. It drifts on this for a while, simmering as you wait for the other shoe to drop.
I can appreciate this album's dedication to atmosphere, this is not a band I have really given much of a chance so I am glad to give this a listen now and hear what they are about. This is a more doom opriented take on sludge as well as there is an aching sense of loss that permeates these songs so far. They excel at using layers of sound, rather than jsut abusing your ears with distortion. That is what makes this album so heavy is it's emotiona lweight, the drum s are more pummeling going into the third movement.
The drummer seems to be the only one that wants them to be a blakc metal band though the vocalist comes close enough toi rbidge the gap. There is a dissonace that calls for the screamed harsh expressions splattering against the canvas of suffering. The third movments writhes with angular feel than the firwt to songs. The drums are impressive in the rentless tension they add to things. There is an almost Meshuggah like timing to the syncopation this songs winds it's way around to. It almsot feels likea breakdown at times. You can not blame them for not being dynamic, as evne in it's sprawl it's filled with twists and turns. They do blast at you for a solid minute in the secondd half of this song, but it feels more likea descent into chaos.
Supposedly this album is about dreams becoming infectious, but the lyrics are not articulated in a way that lets you uin one this though, there is a nightmarish feel to the ambiance of the songs. The fourth movement picks back up at the blast and almsot makes you ask if this is a slackened sludge album which might be a possibility if they return to this . As expected they find their way into a weighty stomp. Things get a little lsot in the blur on this one , as it less forgiving than the previous songs. In the second half they drop back into the more welcome feel of doom.Not that I like doom more than black metal, I just like darkness and both genres do that well, they just seem better at the doomier section as it resonates more with hwo they are.
The last movment opens with industrial tinged ambiance. The secreaming lead s the way back in much like what they did on the second song. The drums do not wait as long to make themselves known here. It is a lingering pound but a pound none the less. It is confrontational in a much different way than the previous song. It midwya into the song when things being to build into a more harrowing sonic force. The roboticc synth sound that creep in a re pretty cool. This song has more of a drone and takes less of an adventurous path almost more like a sci-fi trailer sound track. I will give this one a 9.5, I like what they are doing here and if you like dark confrontational msuci with a fair amount of atmospehre to give it a chilling vibe it is worth your
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