Noctambulist – Atmospheres of Desolation

January 2019 – Blood Harvest Records

Atmospheres of Desolation is the most dense and opaque record I've listened to this year, bringing me back to my early exploration of dissonant black and death metal, where I learned to swim in the thick pools of quicksand distortion and breathe the noxious fumes of dissonance. Noctambulist have crafted a trying experience, as wading through the waist-high marsh they recorded requires full attention – from the hellish arpeggios burning my lungs to the muddy technical chuggs pulling at my legs from beneath, Atmospheres of Desolation does its best to test my sanity.

Despite the obscure, swampy aesthetic they've cultivated like a jungle garden of poisonous plants, Noctambulist show technical prowess, but with enough restraint as to not become musical masturbation. Kick drums using start/stop patterns, guitar work that needs no leads to show off creativity or precision, and overall tight playing show great musicianship without pretension – Atmospheres of Desolation is a masterclass in using skill in aid of songwriting. Tension rises and falls like a broken roller coaster, its train pushing the restraints to their limits. Unexpected shifts in tone and playing on tropes are common themes throughout the record, where a predictable breakdown will turn into a festival of dissonance.

In lieu of faux blackened influence like a phrygian scale or airy vocals, Noctambulist have taken the high road – far from the easy listening territory of Behemoth, disharmonious arpeggios and intense atmosphere have all the emphasis. Despite this, Atmospheres of Desolation is a death metal record before anything else, with an in-your-face approach that lasts almost the full 27 minutes. It's a powerful album which will hopefully aid in redefining a stagnant genre mix into something infinitely more interesting.

Comments

Five the Hierophant – Over Phlegeton

Five the Hierophant – Over Phlegeton Dark Essence Records – 2017 There's a rare breed of album which instantly becomes a cult classic, and I can confidently say Over Phlegeton is one of them. Experimental, weird, bizarre, none of these words come close to describing just how extraordinary and interesting this record is. If I had to draw parallels with another band, I'd say it's a heavier, more mature version of Mamaleek, with many similar elements such as the ethnic percussions or non-traditional scales, but with a much darker visage and more detailed composition. There have been incredible avant-garde metal albums using unconventional instruments, but none have been so tactfully used as the saxophone is on Over Phlegeton. Played as a full instrument and not a token nod to some jazzy experimentation, Five the Hierophant explore the extremeties of what the sax can do – from screaming leads floating above the guitars to wailing voices in the wind, passing by hear...

Phrenelith – Desolate Endscape

Phrenelith Desolate Endscape – 2017 Remember when the Internet went crazy for Pissgrave – Suicide Euphoria (Profound Lore Records) back in 2015 ? It's time for a new riot straight from the abyss, and the demon's name is Phrenelith. Born in 2013 in Copenhagen, Phrenelith started their career out with a split with Spectral Voice (Iron Bonehead, 2016), followed shortly by an EP (Chimaerian Offspring – Extremely Rotten Productions, 2017) and a masterpiece of an album, Desolate Endscape (Dark Descent Records, 2017). Desolate Endscape is the kind of album that reminds me why I like death metal – it's inherently primal , evil and intimidating. This record is a massive slab of death metal, dense and heavy and being thrown at your face. The fact that there's zero flourish or unnecessary technicality brings Phrenelith to the forefront of the cavemanesque caverncore scene that's been simmering for the past decade. The entire album drips with ichor, and while ...

Kataplexia – The Rise of the Unknown

Kataplexia – The Rise of the Unknown January 2019 – Rotten Music Kataplexia is Finland's best Indonesian brutal death metal band. You read that right, Indonesian is now a valid qualifier for brutal death metal. For those unaware, I explored and wrote about the Southeast Asian brutal death metal scene two years ago, discovering a gigantic scene with an uncharacteristic public acceptance. One of the members of Jasad began a side-project, Kaluman, which is the definition of high-quality Southeast Asian brutal death metal. A couple seconds into Kataplexia's latest, I expected to see Rottervore or Extreme Souls as their label, as every element pointed towards Indonesian origins – the tone, production, vocals, riffs and even album art all felt like Ferli Suferli (Jasad, Kaluman) was behind the project, yet Helsinki is listed as their base of operations. Admittedly, there's only so much one can actually say about the music without endless comparisons. A modern ...

Undergrind Metal

Search This Blog