Tectonics

I seriously don’t know what to say about these guys. I mean yeah enough superlatives have been used, from apocalyptic to cyber industrial doom to doom drone and whatnot, but just like a handful of bands around the globe, these guys tread a unique path as far as their music is concerned. After listening to the 2nd song itself, it’s pretty apparent that the album is aptly named. The grinding, crushing and churning of the tectonic plates beneath the surface as they destroy and repair the earth’s crust over millions of years, which is exactly the feeling this album evokes. Or maybe the collision of the KT asteroid with the Earth that wiped out the dinosaurs and the subsequently charred crater of the aftermath, spread across several thousand miles across the Mexican Peninsular. Okay, my mind does wander after all.

My favourite songs would have to be “Wisdoom” and “Monochrome Red”. The opening fucking riff of ‘Wisdoom’ itself will smash your face into shards with a titanium pillar, it’s THAT heavy. However all the songs have the same characteristics of dread and horror that an apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic scenario would induce. ‘Monochrome Red’ has a claustrophobically menacing atmosphere about it that I can’t help but love. The heaviness of this album is equivalent to being crushed under 20 stacked jumbo jets while your head is being smashed open by a 50 ton hammer. Like I said it’s THAT heavy. You can ignore the numerics if you like.

Hard as it might be to believe, it’s more brutal and vicious than most BDM [Brutal Death Metal] bands out there who have to end up relying on blast beats for brutality. And that guitar tone! Fuck!! One hell of a sonic punch folks. Feels like the sound of hell oozing out from a supermassive black hole. This is no accessible easy listening album with choruses, hooks or catchy riffs. Only a droning, malevolent and almost psychedelic atmosphere throughout the album with peaks and valleys. You don’t listen to this album as much as you experience every minute of it, soaking up the dread and the bloodcurdling atmosphere that relentlessly grinds your senses hollow. Out of all the genre boxing, I have to say that the tag Industrial Death/Doom is the most appropriate one for these psychotic Frenchmen.

Although just as other reviewers have pointed out, it does get pretty overwhelming when listening to the whole album at once. I mean c’mon it’s hard to get obliterated into dust 8 freaking times over and over again and STILL enjoy the fuck out of it, without getting a tad bit exhausted. Plus the slightly excessive song lengths don’t really help either. By the time I reach ‘Inseminator/Matrix’, I literally feel like I’ve run a goddamn marathon. Listen to one half of the album at a time and you’ll be much more likely to dig this on (at least) a weekly basis.

However that’s a minor complaint and don’t let that deter you from getting your hands on this beast. Then again I really can’t see metalheads outside of the industrial metal and doom/death metal circles enjoying this album. Those of you who happen to be fans of the aforementioned genres or open-minded enough to venture out on a trip into the unknown however, prepared to have your senses obliterated. See you on the other side. Of course, that’s assuming you even make it past the 3rd song without your cranium imploding.

P.S: Whatever the fuck you do, don’t drop acid to this album; you probably won’t make it. Slight correction, you DEFINITELY won’t make it. You have been officially warned. Listen at your own peril.