It starts with a premonition. A Premonition of Inevitable Doom; the title track as well as a literary signal. It's enough to clue you in to what's going on, and listening to it makes it more apparent. A thick fuzz, a synthy drone submerged within and mystical sounding samples echo in and out of the foreground. And as soon as premonition sounds, it blends right into the doom. That deep bass fuzz turns into an incredibly sharp guitar and madness spews from the constant clang of symbols and snares with incredibly tense blasts. But even if you don't start the album, there are plenty of signals from even the album cover alone. Much like the Amocoma cover, a black border contains all. Seemingly a gesture at that same fuzz and atmosphere that permeates nearly all contained with the album. It's a dirty beast within. The font, remeniscent of Bathory, cues a medieval feel. Deep in the dungeons and that. And beyond those the few keywords we get do their own.
"Black" is an easy one. Fuzz is everywhere, pounding drums are everywhere, much of this album is a bleak nightmare. "Vomit" comes at a much more abstract view, however. It comes as one of the trademarks of this sound, though, the "True Sheffield Black Psychedelia" scene. Vomit, as an amalgamation of what has come to one before, does work somewhat well in regards to this sound. Despite what I have said before, this isn't all black. Thrown in with those long dungeon walks, are small shafts of light. Dispersed with the fuzz are bright synthy passages, reminiscent of something the "Aguirre" soundtrack. But even in the blackness cues some amalgamation. The drums aren't always typical blasts, sometimes they reveal more as tribal war drums, sometimes revealing more as wild, somewhat linear assaults, coming off as more of a "man-made" breakcore. And within even that, sampling is prevalent. In context it sounds more of the inner ramblings of a schizophrenic. Ramblings of preachers, doctors, and lovers, perhaps whirling through a distraught mind, cutting in and out and constantly warped it some manner.
"Jungle Death" as well seems to have some meaning through all this. Death should be as obvious as "black" by now. There's a menacing demeanor behind much of this. The jungle is obscure, though. Possibly read in terms of the drumming, going into it's breakcore, DnB sort of flair, recalling the genre of music called "jungle". Or perhaps it's a part of the atmosphere itself. An uninviting den with beasts roaming.
Lastly the picture. DMT crystals. Not only a heavy psychedelic, but also speculated to be the cause of the Near-Death Experience phenomena, it's a perfect compliment to the music themselves. Even in just the three songs set from Repositioning Chrome to Dark Beloved Cloud, you get an almost rockish psychedelic sound, leading to a strings and choral arrangement in "Konna Yume Wo Mite (Such Dreams I Have Dreamed)", which falls into a pure aural assault of flailing drums, thick fuzz and an assortment of mutated samples. This album is certainly a trip.
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ReplyDeletethe transition between the first two songs is so good
ReplyDeleteblack vomit "jungle death"
ReplyDeleteyes.