This Mass of Confusion

This is a collaborative effort between the bassist Mark Portier and the guitar player Gert-Jan Aaltink who were already best buddies in Jagannath, a short-lived formation from the late-80’s, who should be better remembered as they were one of the first to try more complex music on Dutch ground dazed by the recent more elaborate attempts by their peers from the Bay-Area. The guys separated for a while in the early-90’s with Portier exploring technical death metal territory with Adetar, and Aaltink carrying on with his progressive thrash infatuations with Genetic Wisdom. In other words, both were busy taking part in the technical/progressive metal movement which was thriving in Holland in the early-90’s.

However, like everything great in life, this impressive period didn’t last for very long and before you know it it mutated into the prevalent groovy/grungy/alternative forms which dominated the scene all the way to the dawn of the new millennium. A certain gap opened in this suffocating hegemony in 1997, a gap which afforded the entrance of such brilliant classic works of technical thrash like Mind-Ashes’ “The Views Obscured”, Unleashed Power’s “Mindfailure”, and Hexenhaus’ “Dejavoodoo”. It seemed as though the aggro-rule would be put an end to back then… which sadly didn’t happen for another couple of years. It also became clear that this gap also produced several gems that couldn’t quite rise above ground one of which being the demo reviewed here…

So it turned out that the two comrades had gotten together again with the intention on proceeding with the complex landscapes they had been dealing with for quite some time, as a joint venture once again. They teamed up with two other, unknown at the time, musicians to the mass’ “utter confusion” for the release of this solitary effort which enchants from the get-go with the instrumental title-track, a breath-taking blend of acoustics and lead guitarisms. Two minutes very well spent as a warm-up before “Loner” arrives with heavy stomping rhythms which twist and turn into a not very predictable manner recalling early Psychotic Waltz, the steady mid-paced rifforama enhanced by very good semi-detached clean vocals. “The Walker” starts as a heavy ballad which begins thrashing hard in the middle with abrupt time and tempo-shifts; a surreal shredder which grows into “Calling Consciousness”, a pounding dramatic cut with bizarre bass-driven sections and some really outlandish vocal bravado recalling Scott Jeffreys (Confessor). Mentioning the Confessors, the following “When the Fool…” reminds of the Americans’ schizophrenic exploits quite a bit with its intricate, doom-laden arrangements dispersed with sudden outbursts of technical brilliance, another mirage-like amalgam which also boasts a nice balladic passage in the second half.

“Individuals” indeed reveals some individual thought patterns branching into formidable sinister, volcanic thrash the most surprising part being the faster-paced “skirmish” later on which threatens to turn into full-fledged headbanging mosh. Well, that never happens, but the other extreme is eventually reached with the ballad “Irreversible Dispossession”, a cool heavy, riff-driven composition with a dreamy, bluesy undercurrent. “No more ballads”, I hear some of you say, and the guys heed the fans’ admonition changing the guard on "Sacrifice of Sanity" into seismic jumpy thrash amidst short lead sweeps and vociferous bass support. The audience should also stay put for the short 1-min balladic outro “Voices Within” which closes this effort in an expected minimalistic fashion aggravating the atmosphere as a final stroke.

Kudos should be paid to the guys for not trading their ideals for trendier sounds, but holding steadfastly to their vision, to be one of the prominent representatives on the progressive/technical metal field, whatever this might cost them. As previously mentioned, the time seemed ripe for such classic outrages; several outstanding albums sneaked under the post-thrashy censure threatening to tumble down “the new music order”. Another thing worth mentioning is that the guys never repeated themselves; they were constantly looking to experiment within the technical metal realm thus coming with this fairly intriguing take on the doom/thrash mixture which showed how metal could sound technical and engaging without the constant reliance on speedy intrusions. One may argue that similar blends had already been provided to some extent on the works of their compatriots Sacrosanct, Rhadamantys, and Creepmime, but enhanced by more surreal, eccentric atmosphere brought from the other side of the Atlantic (Confessor and Psychotic Waltz again, above all) these “voices” begged to differ with their darker, less digestible and more esoteric “message”. Logically, it could only be a one-time “message” the band expectedly not willing to further elaborate on it…

Portier and the vocalist Michael de Groot stayed together for the recording of another retro thrash obscurity under the name Ominous Dusk (one demo released in 1999), and they seem to be enjoying working with each other as evident from the various other projects their partnership has spawned: the death/grindcore outfit Ulcerate Fester, the progressive metal formation Liquid Baby, etc. It looks like the Portier/Aaltink union had finally satisfied its hunger for originality and innovation in music… Let’s not cross them out of the list yet; the wave of thrash metal resurrectors still has room for expansion, especially with those who constantly look to challenge its rigid, conservative dogmas.