When I read that Momentum are from Iceland and play post-metal, I immediately had visions of the recreation of vast expanses and lunar landscapes. To their credit and my shame, they don’t follow such a bland stereotype. “The Freak is Alive” is about the creation of a unique world. If we’re staying Icelandic, this is more Björk. In fact the atmosphere at times is that of Tiamat of “A Deeper Kind of Slumber” with its oozy woozy nature, spreading out with its own imaginative patterns and seemingly introducing us to a whole new musical and linguistic culture. Drum patterns weave magic hypnotically while post metal heaviness creeps up on us like a natural phenomenon.
Of the nine tracks, for me “Gauntlet” captured the intrigue best. The atmosphere is pungent and crunchy. Progress is creepy. There’s a doom like quality but above all Momentum capture something that is lingering like a cloud, intensified by the dark and solemn chorus which has a strong resemblance to Tiamat. Those drums play tricks and emit a compelling beat. A chant starts and I hear reference to “mind control”, as this woozy number blends faintly into Eastern tones. I could picture dry ice rising steadily on stage as the mystical atmosphere takes over. The title track follows and after initially heading into a different direction from “Gauntlet”, it builds up mysteriously before giving way to the sounds and smells of India. But there now it’s in the presence of a nightmarish and haunting chant to permeate our brain. The drum then leads us through dark and sinister territory on “The Beast is Near”. The chant is accompanied by echoing voices bursting forth explosively and taking us to a world not just of leaden heaviness but of dark ritual. Momentum are not averse to fearsome roars, as they demonstrate on “Creator of Malignant Metaphors” but what captured me is this world of strangeness, characterised by haunting sections, deep atmospheres and psychedelically driven lyrics: “It’s time for us to fly … my dreams are through and through not what they seem”. Dreams seem central to this mystical work. Momentum also have, as the title suggests, an interest in freaks. But it’s not all cosmic waves as there are constant twists and turns, so at one moment there’s a progressive feel, there’s ferocity, there are doom like qualities and there’s the sound of the sitar. I felt as if we were spiralling into absurdity from a controlled core which has darkly haunting and lingering chants and rhythms.
In “The Freak is Alive”, Momentum have carefully conceived an outer worldly concept. Dark, heavy and clever in its imagination and shadowiness, this is top quality weirdness.
(8.5/10 Andrew Doherty)
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