Mesarthim - Isolate

Have you ever wondered what space feels like? We may visualize the movement of celestial structures into the vast darkness of space, where light is not dominant but a part of the whole and among the infinite, us floating into the nothingness. But we have never actually felt it with our being. We have never been there (I mean us, not the astronauts). Have you ever wondered what would we see, if we were travelling faster than the speed of light? If we had the ability to look towards a source of light, be it a sun or a planet that reflects light, or a gigantic cluster of matter, dust, planets and suns, while travelling at the same speed, what would we see? Have you ever wondered what is there, beyond the universe? Maybe there is another one, an exact replica of this one. Or maybe there is a bigger one, surrounding this one. Or maybe there are gazillion universes inside each universe and so on and so forth.

One thing is certain. Light and darkness make space feel wondrous and horrifying at the same time. It may be that light is the source of life and darkness the absence of life. Both exist together, conjoint and melding into each other seamlessly. Somethingness and nothingness. Lightness and darkness. Life and death. Conscious and unconscious. Known and unknown. The duality of being.

But what about sound? We already know that in the absence of atmosphere, sound cannot travel. In the darkness, the unconscious, the unknown there is no sound. Or maybe there is and we have yet to listen to it. But until that time comes, we are left with wonder and our ability to create.

The vast space can, by itself, be a source of inspiration, a source for exploring and discovering and bringing to light what is unknown. But if we do it from here, while looking at the sky and thinking about it, feeling the insignificance of our being in front of this grand movement of things, isn’t it also a form of self-exploration?

I have listened to a few bands that communicate through music a visualization of space. Some move to the dark and horrifying part of space, away from the light and into the darkness. Others move into the light and explore with a sense of wonder and beauty. Both use the same instruments but the aesthetics are completely different. Mesarthim are of the latter. Their music is uplifting and this can be attributed on their composition and the instruments used.

Let us see, visualize if you want, how the music would be like if it was placed into space, if we accept that sound can be placed in space and create structures. The synths are at the forefront, making them the core attraction, while the guitars are in the background, creating a shape shifting wall of sound. The guitars step forward to play some lead melodies or solos and then sink back into the wall of sound; the patterned hits of the drums are placed just in front of the guitars and behind the synths; the voice screams at times, covering everything, like the captain of a space shuttle, observing the wondrous creations in space. Surrounding this whole movement is the ambience created by synths; space sounds that wrap everything inside a blanket and isolating them from the outer, making it a safe journey. This is how “Isolate” appears in me.

The whole album sounds as a solid entity, but every song moves in different territories, with different pacing and build up. Opener, “Osteopenia”, mixes the wall of riffs with the screams until the synths take their place in front. A steady and simple rhythm from the drums and the ambience, create a slow moving and melancholic beginning. Then “Declaration” takes it up a notch, with its lightness caused mostly by the synths. “Abyss” is the exact opposite of what its name may communicate. It feels uplifting, grand, warm and peaceful. Using the same compositional structures and something that may be Theremin (though I doubt it, it’s probably still synths), it feels mellow and sweet.

So, what is “Isolate”? It is definitely not depressive or isolating in any sense. It is a shuttle that is moving into the infinite nothingness of space and we are the passengers on a journey. It is an album that I enjoy listening to and sinking into it, while seeing the deep infinite nothingness. And is that infinite nothingness within us or without us?

Recommended Track: Abyss

MesarthimFb Page

Label: Avantgarde Music

Released: 18/01/2016

Read More

The Texas Chainsaw Dust Lovers - Me And The Devil - Review

The Texas Chainsaw Dust Lovers (TTCDL) are from Paris but they do love the aesthetics of the American desert, the ambience of Ennio Morricone’s music and heavy riffs. They self-describe their music as heavy desperado rock n roll and I have no objections with that.

“Me And The Devil” is their debut album and their excitement is evident. They play high energy rock and the riffs some times are close to the stoner sound and others to the hard rock sound. Every now and then there is a rockabilly riff and lead melodies that take the listener to a saloon, with a drink in hand, enjoying some poker while eyeballing the one on the other side of the table. Maybe he is cheating. I don’t know.

Some songs have tremendous riffs and are perfect for having fun. “Summer Spleen” has a great core riff throughout the song and it grabs you. “My lover of the moon” is a more laid back rock n roll song that could accompany a road trip while driving on wide and open roads and the sky is clear with the sun warming the roof of the car. It helps the listener relax and have fun with some nice rock tunes.

The album moves on the radio friendly and fun rock and roll sound, like Clutch and QOTSA, and they did work on the riffs and the hooks and the catchy vocal lines but they are not that good. Even though I have no complain concerning the composition of the songs, they do not stick with me, they do not call me back. It is a nice album, with a number of good tunes, riffs, solos and atmosphere and that by itself is adequate; a good rock album for fans of the stoner and rock sound.

Recommended track: “Summer Spleen”

TheTexas Chainsaw Dust Lovers FB Page

Label: Besta Records

Read More

The Temple - Forevermourn - Review

The aesthetics of doom metal vary widely. This, of course, springs from the artists themselves and their representation of the inner to the outer, while using heavy, big and slow riffs. But the feel of it, the sensitivity and the emotional communication between the musicians and the listeners can be unique, especially when you come upon a band that has its own cloak surrounding their music.

The Temple are moving on the sensitive, emotional and devout spectrum of doom and this can be attributed on the vocal performance of the singer, Father Alex and the leading melodies that come in contrast with the big body of riffs. The approach, the execution, the lyrics and the performance of the singer stand out from the very first song. He is not only singing, he is mourning, he is chanting, he is crying, he embodies tragedy, despair, hopelessness and aloneness. In other words, he is performing on the grand stage set by the music and this creates a beautiful and mournful environment. A congregation of grievances among people that are not necessarily in a period of grief, but can bring about the feeling, reenact memories and express untold emotions through their music.

The listener is invited to take part in the rituals of the devout with a sense of loss and pain; to move with them; to cry with them and, like a macabre dance around the fires that burn in the night alongside the dead body of a loved one, to be released and redeemed. 

Tragedy is an aspect of art that represents grief, hopelessness and deep psychological pain as it is experienced by all of us, but in an aesthetically pleasing way. Art that has tragedy as its core, unites people under one shared truth: grief is part of everyone’s life. The Temple merge pain with redemption, sorrow with tears, grief with shades of hope, beautiful melodies with grandiose riffs, funeralistic marches with devout sermons and they do it in a way that can be emotional and moving but not unbearable.

When it is done successfully, the listener is drawn in the dark ambience of their Temple, as a part of a religious flock where emotions are flowing with the movement of the bodies. On the other hand, there are instances where the singer strains his voice and the effect is not communicated as it is intended, where other times the lead guitars will play a melody that feels out of place. These instances occur in places in some songs and can be considered flaws in execution, which may draw the listener’s attention for a moment and then immediately sink back in. 

The Temple worked on writing vocal lines that resemble religious chanting, a form of singing that is not only difficult but can be devastatingly emotional. Listen how Father Alex begins his performance in “Remnants”; listen to the poetic rhythm of the words and the stability in his voice; a soft, sensitive expression, which plays with double recorded vocals; listen to the riff that creates a big but soft body of sound surrounding both the voice and the lead guitars; listen to the march of the drums and the bass vibrating behind everything. It will engage with you and move you.

The composition maintains a balance between the metal element and the sensitive performance of the singer, creating a deeply emotional ride in the dark side of life while it feels enjoyable and close to the heart. “Forevermourn” flows for almost an hour, welcoming those with affinity to sadness; it invites them to expose themselves to it, time after time, since the emotional imprint turns out to be positive. “Mirror Of Souls” for example is a doom song that allows rays of hope to shine. The end of the album will leave you with a feeling of lightness, less burdened and troubled and that is what tragedy should communicate; a path to redeem ourselves from pain and sorrow. 

Let us pray.

Recommended track: Remnants

The Temple Fb Page

Label: I HATE

Released on 18/03/16

Read More

Echoes Of The Moon - Entropy - Review

The self-aware universe is expressed through patterns and not decisions. This is a law of communication and when it is brought to light it may transform one’s understanding of life. It was via patterns of frequent recurring that Echoes Of The Moon were made aware to me.

At first it was the cover art, which communicates a melancholy as it may arise when someone connects with nature. Then it appeared as an indirect notion via scattered references that the inner eye picked up. And I, the writer, just followed the bread trail to the source, with a rather loose approach. Maybe it was this loose approach, when one doesn’t expect anything, where a form of communication can be established in such a way and the music speaks directly and effortlessly to one’s heart. Or maybe I am trying to convey in an indirect way, a non-precise way, that music has the tendency to create structures that cannot be grasped through words.

If I were a painter, I would have a different approach in communicating the beauty that is enclosed within “Entropy”. But either way, or in a number of different ways, I am writing about something that is not the thing itself. When words cannot carry the emotion, the inner visual representation of art, we tend to create new words, of just give up and enjoy the experience. So, this confined writer, confined by words that is, has to establish a form of connection with the reader. The writer/reviewer works as a medium between art and experience, and he or she can only do it through the lenses of his/her subjective experience.

Music, deeper than any other form of art, has the ability to communicate with every individual, regardless of language, upbringing, education, knowledge, gender, age, epoch. And that, my fellow readers, is an absolutely overwhelming realization. Music can transcend words and images. It can go beyond and into the spiritual.

But music as art is also confined. It may be that it works in a certain way within me and in a different way within you, or in someone else. How did that come to be? Why is it not the same experience? Is it because the functioning of each body is different and thus the experience is different? But we do have some basic principles, which need to function in order for us to communicate. We come from the same soil but we are different in expression and form. That which unites us is the very essence of being. We are made out of the same stuff. Cooperation and conflict can only arise because of this essence. And from that same essence, art comes to life.

Art is a means to explore and it can be done by both the artist and the one experiencing the art. How can one not love that which is a fragment of being, a shape shifting creation that doesn’t only move in space, but also in time?

Brock, the man behind the art, is an explorer. As a creator, he uses forms, with some basic patterns, like a riff, while evolvement is the key in every song. The guitars lead, the percussions set the mood, and the screams come from above like the fog in the dusk. Each song is a structure that revolves around a core theme, changing form, pace and emotional intensity, creating an interesting and beautiful exploration.

Composition and song structuring is Brock’s strong skill. While at times, some solo’s and leads feel that they could be more precise, closer to the heart, and other times the songs feel a bit stretched, the overall aesthetics, the composition of each song, the emotional imprint and every other element that works cooperatively, allows the listener to sink into it and enjoy a beautiful creation.

The song “Adaptation” is moving into psychedelic rock territories, with oriental percussion, while “The Tower Of Babylon” is more closely related to the marriage of post rock and black metal. And in between them “Ideaologue”, a Burzumian song. Even though the disparity of musical forms is wide, the whole creation entitled “Entropy” can be experienced as a whole; with every different aspect of it feeling like it belongs there.

For example, the structure of “The Tower Of Babel” is damn impressive and eloquent, while the listener never loses interest. It begins with simple accords, ambience and repeating drum patterns. Then the lead guitar is introduced playing a theme, which feels like a narration and not necessarily a solo. Then in 2:20 the riff (the core theme) and the voice appear together. The riff plays, the lead guitar continues, while the drums maintain the same patterns and the voice changes from deep to scream. The narration of the lead guitar appears again, while the second guitar plays a similar theme and the narration transforms into an electric conversation between the guitars. And that covers the first 7 minutes. Like a swing that moves between mountains and the voice coming from the sky, sensitive and aggressive, vulnerable and playful, it needs to be felt and not explained.

Listen to it while jogging, or while browsing, or while eating pizza. Just pay attention to it and it will speak to you. It is beautiful, it is longer than it should be, it has heart, it is moving and creates visuals, it is rough on the edges and not very precise and coherent at times, it is an exploration that will reward anyone who will allow himself/herself to sink into it, and maybe even become it for that certain period of time. “Entropy” is a beautiful album where the flaws are part of its charm.

Recommended song: “Tower Of Babel”

Fbpage

Read More