Illusory

The instrumentation on this album is amazing. Overall production is everything I’ve come to expect from black metal and grindcore: Very fuzzy, very loud. That in mind, Illusory does not fall victim to the unlistenableness that a lot of black and grind bands suffer from. The bass is mixed in perfectly, and is clear and audible on many tracks (Exposure, First World Problems, Shidiot are standout), another trait I’ve come to expect from grindcore. Overall riffage is very diverse and keeps the listener’s attention. Absvrdist has found a wonderful balance between black metal grimness and hardcore brutality. The opening riff to Funny Games and overall progression of Brood provide an energetic, yet bitter atmosphere. Mindless shows off the band’s hardcore chops, with a closing riff that brings enough mosh to last for ages. Illusory and Abstract Absurdities are small yet laudable victories in the technicality department, as the riffs take some notes out of mathcore’s playbook. Illusory has excellent guitars, plain and simple.

Excellence is a standard on this release, as the drums are nearly as good as the guitars. Though heavily influenced by hardcore, the drums on Illusory are very diverse, with songs like Delusion and Logical Conclusion that crush the listener’s ears with a hardcore-tinged metal assault, and songs like Mindless and Abstract Absurities, which give great atmosphere to the band’s artsier songs. More broadly, the mix of mosh parts and blackened blastbeats make for an interesting balance.

Vocals are this album’s musical weak point. One point of pride is the absolutely sickening nature of the black metal shrieks, however. Besides the shrieks, the vocals on this album are pretty standard issue for a grind-based band. At some points, Illusory is light on vocals, with some short-spoken songs, and some instrumental tracks. This is fine and balanced, as the instrumentation is the star of this release, and the occasional sample provides some backup. You’ll be hard pressed to decipher lyrics aside from those in the sample, as lyrics to this album aren’t anywhere to be found, it seems. Vocals aren’t nearly on par with the rest of the band, but they get the job done.

Top-down, this is a very strong release. The fuzzy grossness of the mixing combined with the short and fast nature of the songs make for a pissed off, energy-packed experience, diversity in the instruments keep things interesting at all times, and the delicate balancing act between extreme metal and hardcore is completed flawlessly. My only true gripe with Illusory is that it’s too short; it’s a bit over 26 minutes long, and the songs are less than two minutes, on average.

Grindcore ever since its onset has often been associated with aesthetic, conceptual and musical limitations. Lyrically bands either want to out-gore one another or show you how politically conscious and sensitive they are, often giving the attitude, framework and vitality of their music a back seat to a facade that brings little or no merit. Thankfully Absvrdist are a refreshing exception to this stereotype, devoid of any such trappings.

As is the case with any album worth its salt, the most notable component of “Illusory” as a release is how cohesive the work as a whole is. The music is at all times dynamic, multi-faceted and adventurous, yet always focused in delivery, never at any point coming across as unfitting.

The sense of immediacy and transition between songs, and the relentlessness brought about by it brings to mind Assuck’s ‘Anticapital’ album, whilst the general eclecticism, use of discordance and ‘outside’ ideas is reminiscent of Brutal Truth’s “Need To Control” albeit at in more frenzied, savage, uptempo form. The overall execution has a swagger and bravado that brings to mind the work of Exhumed. The production work is highly professional, whilst it’s polished, balanced and full of clarity, maintains a rawness and intensity that you’d hear on ‘Jane Doe’ by Converge.

Riff patterns are a rather consistent yet complex punk/metal narrative that are led through a plethora of evolving sequences that constantly breathe new life into the next. Nuances of black metal technique in melody and harmony make a presence, especially clear in songs such as “Amongst Humans” and “Weakness”. An ominous atmosphere that would be familiar to black metal listeners is distinguishable, though is never overwhelming, complimenting the momentum and adding to the bleak canvas.

This is an excellent release, vibrant, muscular and compact. A bleak, brief yet epic catharsis.

http://stenchofishtar.wordpress.com/2012/09/20/absvrdist-illusory/

I first discovered Absvrdist early in 2012 on the SMN death metal forum, where multi-instrumentalist Marlon Friday posted the first demos of his new act. At the time I was blown away by the few sample songs released to Youtube, and I can clearly remember thinking that if Absvrdist releases a full-length this year it would most assuredly be on my year-end top 10 list. With Illusory, Absvrdist have created a heart-pounding, head-banging mini-masterpiece of “blackened grind”, seamlessly blending furious grindcore tactics with gut-wrenching black metal evocations.

What impresses me most about Absvrdist’s debut is how it doesn’t abuse or neglect it’s multitude of influences consistently throughout the record’s brief twenty-six minute duration. Songs flow into and out of each other easily and transitions between song segments feel fluid, most notably in places where a significant stylistic change occurs. Even instantly segwaying from grinding raucousness to bleak grimness is handled with class and in a manner that seems neither pompous nor awkward. The simple congruity of Illusory as a whole is immediately appealing, begging the listener for dozens of repeat full-album listens.

Production-wise, this record shines in it’s clarity. Every minute detail of drummer Lyle Cooper’s antics behind the kit are captured and thrust atop the mix. Luckily, the rhythmic section does not overshadow Marlon’s extremely tight riffage even during moments of absolute chaos. Vocal duties are shared and employ a variety of styles including tortured high rasps, mid-range gutturals and the occasional punky gang vocal. As a listener I always want to hear vocals underneath the mix a bit and Absvrdist delivers in this regard, keeping any vocal passage from interrupting comprehension of the instrumental complexities. Conversely, many songs include a memorable and powerful vocal line or two that rides over a chorus-like segment, again cementing my thoughts on the attractive interaction between styles over the duration of Illusory. The mix is about as dry as the Atacama Desert, and fittingly so. The technical prowess on display deserves nothing less than perfect audibility, and in music as jagged and abrasive as Absvrdist’s brand of black grind nearly any amount of reverb or delay would surely detract.

It is hard to pick out any songs that stand above the others, but my personal favorites are “Amongst Humans”, the title-track “Illusory” and forty-four second “Weakness”. “Amongst Humans” opens with a black metal-esque guitar sequence that builds into an atmospheric lividity reminiscent of some Swedish black metal greats. Not thirty seconds into the grand build, the mood swings into an intensely head-bangable pattern accompanied by beautifully gasping vocal swells. The opening guitar theme returns at the end and transitions without pause into “Illusory”. Chunky guitar riffs and frantic blasting juxtapose the prior song’s atmospheric tinges perfectly; that is until “Illusory” heads back into the depths of dark driving melody at around the track’s halfway point. This song’s conclusion catches me off guard every time, as the dry and brooding solo acoustic guitar has become one of my favorite subtle touches on this album.

Absvrdist’s sound is unique and refreshing, and this debut album certainly garners some significant attention. Illusory doesn’t leave much to be desired but it does leave room for the band to expand, grow, and better define their sound with future releases. I would call this a must-listen for any fan of Anaal Nathrakh, Rotten Sound, and even early Misery Index.