Fusion Of Fears...

Ksyatriya & Animi Vultus - Discrimination (2017)

It's been too damn long since we heard from either Ksyatriya or Animi Vultus (three years and change since the former's most recent release, and over five years for the latter), so it comes as not just a delight, but a relief to get word from the groups that this split had been put together and was ready to be shared with the world.

Ksyatriya lead the way on the digital A-side, opening with the ~10-minute “(R).egimented (A).utocratic (C).ontrol (I).n the (S).ubdivision of (M).ankind”, a slabby mountain on which the band puts to work samples of diatribes by Malcolm X over craggy riffs and shuddering, thickly-reverbed tones. “Rise of the Femme Order: Bigot Cleansing” makes up the second section of the duo's record half, retaining the heavy bass presence while introducing the words of Emmeline Pankhurst for the ideological component. Both tracks feature careful development of the instrumental shaping, taking the droning thrum and directing it with nudges and anglings of the pulse, and there's a feel not unlike a sociologically-minded take on Bell Witch's “Beneath the Mask”, though the brothers of Ksyatriya give it much more distinction than that simple description suggests.

Animi Vultus' 'B-side' consists of just one track, the sprawling “Joy of Existence”, which clocks in at just over half an hour. In that space, the band grows their titan from quiet beginnings to deep snarls of doomy resonance, on through interludes of quiet menace, and into some violently energized rampages. There's a lot of discrete sectioning, with moments like their defiant digging deeper and deeper into a vein of sustained riffage that gets spikier and meaner with each pass, or the frenetic drumming so fast it's (almost) certainly programmed, or the nasty rumble that sinks, and sinks, and sinks still more. There's some real power and direction behind the voiceless doom they provide, and it finishes the split off on a decisive drop into the void.

It's been a while since I've heard an album, even a single-artist affair, that managed the kind of focus and completion of purpose that this one achieves. The two groups complement each other damn nicely, leaving listeners to guess at how much communication between them went on behind the music's construction, and the tension stretch of the last few minutes comes at a time when the musical handling should have attentive ears dangling on its string. Expect this one on the year's best releases list.

~ Gabriel

For Fans Of; Bell Witch, Bongripper, Major Kong, Sunken, White Darkness

Ksyatriya Facebook • Ksyatariya BandCamp • Animi Vultus MySpace  • Animi Vultus BandCamp

Ksyatriya - (R).egimented (A).utocratic(C).ontrol (I).n the (S).ubdivision of (M).ankind (320 kbps)

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The Loved Dead...

Neh Czneg / EGB / Anji Cheung - Neh Czneg / EGB / Anji Cheung (2014)

I was tempted to begin this review by talking about how three-way splits are usually more of a gamble in coherence than the standard double-up splits, but that would have been an exercise in irrelevance, as unlike most releases by three different artists bonded by a record label (in this case, Droning Earth Records), this is a set of collaborations instead of a jumble of individual efforts.  Further adding to the curiosity factor is how all three tracks ("Lurking Fear", "Madness from the Sea", and "Horror in Clay") take a Lovecraftian phrase or story title for their name, and then attempt to actually channel some of that atmosphere into the sonic environments instead of just name-dropping as a lure or slathering it on as superficial cosmetics.  The moody doom goes right down to the bones for these pieces, which take the tack of building around feedback, drones, and indistinct noises (whispers and such) for their nocturnal excursions, with some infrequent and electronically-shredded vocals as the only human element.  If you want to sit down and just have some dark sound-waves to engulf you, it's a treat, but those looking for steady beats and distinct riffs will likely find it more than a little off-putting.
~ Gabriel

For Fans Of;    Dead Machines, Gnaw Your Tongues, Sunn O))), Sutekh Hexen, Wicked King Wicker

Droning Earth Records BandCamp

Neh Czneg / EGB / Anji Cheung - Madness from the Sea (320 kbps)

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Walk Into the Light

FVNERALS ~ The Light (2014)

With this being Fvnerals follow up to 2013's "The Hours EP", their first full length "The Light" is what you'd expect, more of what has built their name thus far, filled with haunting melodies that creep along and include just the right touch of heaviness to bind the whole thing together into the bleakest of atmospheres. The vocals are airy and enchanting throughout the whole thing, with moments of it being barely louder than whisper, and at other times the vocals can be a little louder, but downright hypnotizing.  The guitar puts down droning, somber passages, with the drummer never in much of a hurry, but always right on time in the grand scheme of things.  The second track on the album "Vakna" has a long build up to the halfway point's massive crescendo, it's like your soundtrack for an asteroid strike apocalypse and that's zero hour for a rock the size of a small country to slam into the planet at a few thousand miles an hour.  The sort of thing even single-celled organisms and cock roaches don't survive.  This eventually slows back down and returns to the original section, like a review of the scorched ground and towering clouds of dust left behind.  Now, if you're a die-hard metal fan, don't let the "shoegaze" and "dark ambient" tags throw you off, this is still some of the most soul crushingly melancholy music to come out last year.  Just think of it as listener friendly funeral doom.  If this sounds enticing, head over to their bandcamp and hear it for yourself.
~Skip

For Fans Of;  Sunwølf, Chelsea Wofle, Earth

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