I have a lot music presented to
me.I write these reviews and I host 2
radio shows and in 2014 I had close to 500 promo albums run through my email
box.I hear a lot of music and as you
would probably guess, a lot of it is fairly generic and, as the saying goes,
the music goes in one ear and out the other.There are things I like, things that standout, but when I come across a
release that not only stands out, but grabs my attention as something unique,
it's worth me writing about it.
As you may have concluded,
“Sweven” by Morbus Chron is one of those albums.Its been out for a while and so I'm a little
late to the party, but I put this album on a few weeks ago and I find myself
going back to it over and over again.It
really is unique and individual, which doesn't happen often in the metal
genre.The funny thing is, I'm not sure
if this is a metal album.I'm not sure
what it is, to be honest, besides really, really, really good.
If I had to describe the music,
and I kinda have to since this is a review, it is definitely very proggy and
somewhat psychedelic, and yet has some very black metal moments.It is a very interesting mix.And to really shake things up, the vocals get
the old school, reverb drenched black metal treatment, which makes sense as
they are done in the screaming, shrieking black metal style.Opeth comes to mind, especially their
last couple of albums, and you throw Meshuggah in there, and probably Enslaved
as well, again most definitely on their last few releases.Despite being reminiscent of all of that, it
stands on its own.Morbus Chron are
their own creature.
The album opens with an
instrumental, “Berceuse”, and then moves seamlessly into the second track,
“Chains”.This is how the rest of the
album goes, without the normal 2-3 second breaks between songs.It is mixed, and was probably written, so
that each song flows into the next.“Aurora in the Offing”,
the 4th song on the album, is one that really caught my ear, with
the way it moves between tempos and the 2 themes that seem to alternate within
the song.The 6th track,
“Ripening Life”, is just stunning.Listening to it is like trying to negotiate a maze that only the band
knows the way through, with riffs twisting and turning on themselves, the
entire band starting and stopping on a dime, and keeping a time signature only
they know.It's a breathtaking example of
what this band can do.
This is the kind of album that
would make me a music lover if I wasn't one already.It stretches out beyond genres and show how
innovative music can be when those who make it decide that they don't have to
be contained by any ideas about what a metal band should sound like.I will be curious to hear what comes next
from these guys, to see if they just captured lightning in a bottle or if they
can keep it up or even top this.Either
way, this is a fantastic album and one that you need to hear, regardless of
your genre affiliation.
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