Genre : Modern Metal/Black Metal
Label : Independent
Origin : Finland
Official site: > - here - <
Black metal has numerous fields of operation that it could work supremely well on, and one of these production commitments deliberately seek to engulf the listener into the mere remnants of what once might have been a perfectly valid set of instruments, but THEN came The Black, and took most of the volumetric essence with it.
This approach emerges excellent at conveying a sense of the nietzschenian superloneliness, as you most often feel that there is something to intently behold and secretly scrutinize beneath the layer of black, but you, as listener, should not be entirely comfortable at the prospect of the veil being removed. Finland-based Twelve of Confusion is a firm admirer and practitioner of said sub-genre of voyeuristic soul-torment, and their monster length double CD effort "Worldsun" comes to burn some well defined holes into Carl Sagan's fabric of the cosmos AND into your soul, if you think you happen to have one. Let us see the temperature posthaste - read on to know more.
This double decker is pretty much guaranteed to mitigate your cravings for highly authentic and non-compromising black metal, and the thoroughness of the journey will take you through soundscapes that are jam-packed with inventive variation throughout. If you are familiar with the music of Burzum, for example, you must have noticed how Varg Vikernes - lead mastermind of Burzum - is prone to utilize ideas that he lets unfold during elongevated sessions, obviously as an effort to instill/cultivate a meditative effect to the given idea - the case not always is such with Worldsun. While there are well identifiable influences that bring to mind Blut Aus Nord and/or the aforementioned Burzum, these guys usually have less time and patience to contain restrained (?) fear and disillusionment, all waiting to be unleashed and contained on the canvas of music.
This compositional ethos emerges with apt capacity to place elegant emphasis on variation and diversity of expressive form in the context of time and sonic volumetrics. The track called "Ghostworld" is one of the most varied efforts on these spins, and registers as one of the most "optimally disturbing" as well, merely as result of how easy it is to relate to the interconnected segments, and how interesting it is to witness the organic connection between the individual chunks - you remember the previous, as it is echoing in a tormented fashion while you are subjected to the consecutive one in the very prison of the present.
Melodically speaking, the band already has a masterful command of how to fabricate and showcase exquisitely tormented sounds, that let you - to quote Meshuggah's Thomas Haake - take in the pleasantries of "aesthetically pleasing decay". This multi-layered approach clearly is a conscious one: while the base is engulfed in the spilled contents of monolithic pits of tar, their immediate surroundings are courted by sound-shapes that dominate the middle register, shapes that were engineered to have their hopeless agony exhibited in a way as to offer something informally relevant to the mere space that contain them, finding the sear bliss of hope - in the form of a final signal - as their final respite. The track "City of Gold" is a great example of how the band is not reluctant to throw everything AND the ectoplasma-filled kitchen sink at your mom. Seemingly the whole build is about to explode, but, upon closer inspection, you realize that each element has its role, and you are being offered a galaxy of stimulus to soak some hungry ears into.
The vocals on the discs is wisely positioned quite low in the mix, seeking to escape the constant danger of being crushed to oblivion by the mass of the present sounds. Their eagerness to survive is commendable, and invite you to occupy them as your avatar, mocking you, essentially, as you struggle for the intactness of your ego constructs. I like the fact that the lead vocalist demands all/everything and anything from his vocal chords, and his shrieks are particularly powerful and intriguingly uncomfortable. If you feel comfortable listening to a black metal vocalist, then the vocalist is a slouch, mind you.
Many of the songs feature a semi-clean set of singing: an artistic stance that conveys a tint of a folk-sensibility, and, believe it or not, it often reminded me of Kurt Cobain's trademark timber. But the feeling is such as if you'd hear Kurt sing folk motives like there is no tomorrow. The singer clearly sings on the top of his lungs, no economic fuckaroundery herein. So, highly authentic and disturbing shit. As said, the vocals are never let to command the music, they are mere instruments in the cavalcade of tormented stimuli, and, interestingly enough, they manage to score an even bigger impact via their futile persistence expressed/banged against the impenetrable vortexes adjacent to them in all conceivable spacial and inner directions.
The double effort even delivers a tint of ambiance in a brief-, but highly effective segment contained in the track "Elucidation", which further accentuates the band's willingness to experiment relentlessly, while the ending of said segment is a masterful threat-voucher traded in for max effect, as it is clear that the destination highlighted by the conclusion is no place you wanted to end up at originally. The very next track, "Villein's Ascent" comes to you directly from the bowels of anti-existence, as Villein clearly is a space-ghost-zombie now who is up to no good, and he is about to invite you to stay for some eternities.
Even though we are talking about a double disc delivery, as result of the exemplary diverse set of narrative attitudes, the spin concludes rather swiftly and eventfully, leaving in you a clear and safe desire to subject yourself to the material once again. There is a lot of beauty and horror to be found herein, all ready to be related to, so what's not to like?
Check out these discs at the official BandCamp of Twelve of Confusion.
GyZ at Bandcamp.
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