Cerebral Alchemy

The chasmic nihilism that underpins a significant portion of underground experimental metal at present finds a compellingly playful counterweight on ‘Cerebral Alchemy’, the debut album from the Slovenian outfit known as Kamra. The usual miasma of bracing dissonance, cyclical mid-paced drum patterns of tribal tom pounding and double bass artillery, and monolithic guitar tones can be found across this release, but they are subtly offset by a light sprinkling of playful, almost bouncy drumbeats and a strangely homely bass tone (in context).

This is further emphasised by the fact that Kamra are not simply dissonance merchants through and through. They offset this with some well placed major chords that come across as almost comforting rather than haunting, but again, this tends to work in the context of what is at heart decidedly atmospheric metal.

‘Cerebral Alchemy’, like many comparable releases from today’s Ruins of Beverast worshipers, sounds like it was recorded in a cathedral. The drums are perhaps the most grounded instrument, which is just as well given the dense performance, offering a full bodied yet solidified sound that allows the listener at least some grounding in rhythmic stability. The guitar tone is spacey and reverb driven, pivoting on washes of layered chords to build up the atmosphere. Plenty of space is granted for riff manipulation certainly, but the emphasis is on the vibe behind each riff rather than the immediacy of their musical content. Vocals veer from strained black metal rasps to distant, guttural howls, all cloaked in yet more reverb.

All of which brings the aesthetic package on ‘Cerebral Alchemy’ very much in line with any recent run of the mill caverncore release. But Kamra are not mere mood artisans, there is real musical content behind these pieces, one that trades on what could be considered traditional melodic narratives. These are deployed as secondary characters, signposts of dramatic significance that provide not only respite from the dissonance and ascending air raid siren chord progressions, but a context and meaning behind the more abrasive elements.

These more traditional melodic inflections are further enhanced by a drum performance that occasionally falls into bouncy punk rhythms, letting the crash cymbal rest for a few measures, allowing the mix to breathe and transition to the next phase. Kamra go further and deploy odd clean guitar interludes of ambiguous melodic content and idiosyncratic vocalisations that serve to elevate the tension without swamping the listener in additional noise theatricalities.

It may be true that Kamra still have more to do to warrant their existence as distinct from the current landscape of much underground extreme metal, but they have taken the first step in offering a debut of solid if sparsely populated novelty alongside an immersive textural experience.

Originally published at Hate Meditations