Promoted as “the perfect visionary soundtrack for … a brutal, mutant universe”, this album from US artist Nick Stanger promises an experimental and extreme metal experience.

Extreme it is. Manic, screaming deathly outputs are matched with vocal roars and a violent wall of sound. And before you know it, “Death Unyielding” is over and more murderous anarchy is upon us. Is it Mr Stanger or is it me? Either way, it’s intense and frenetic, at least until it suddenly slows and transforms into a sinister, spooky passage. These short excerpts, and I’m talking a minute or two in most cases, have the feel and texture of grind, so you have to get all your brutality into short bursts. And this is what happens. So “Tachyon Malnourishment” is a deliberate cacophony of extreme technical experimentalism. That probably sounds a bit cerebral because we’re all teetering on the edge here. It’s your worst nightmare, or to borrow a track title, an “Antidream”. The 45 seconds of “Antidream” are more measured, relatively speaking, but thanks to its dissonance even when played quietly, this interlude amounts to cosmic menace. “Ablation of Subconscious”, which follows, has a black metal riff, which is not entirely surprising as Mr Stanger plays in the black metal band Ashbringer. Of course it’s dirty and violent and unconventional. There’s a bit of Aborym about it with added technical extremity. In “Flesh Prison” Mr Stanger now lays out his vision statement: “My purpose is to bear witness to the falling of aeons, the death of the universe”. He tells us he is trapped. It sounds like it, and moreover it’s as if he’s in a cage and trying to break the bars with his bare hands. It’s all out of control. And that’s the music. “Post-Ironic Indoctrination” continues the cosmic chaos, sounding like a video game that developed a mind of its own. “Schrödinger’s Foreskin” starts like a scientific experiment, bursting out in technical spasms and raucous violence. “Take me away” implores Mr Stanger. With all this swirling chaos going on around him, I’m not surprised he’s not happy with his lot. “Fester in the nether” closes the album, and at 4 minutes 45 seconds in length, it’s a monster. There is actually some atmospheric build-up. It’s impressively and carefully done but by now I’d got used to the thrill of uncontrollable mayhem. This is almost a progressive technical metal piece, but the harsh instrumentals, belie the sense of being at one with the ethereal, which the lyrics suggest. For me the shorter, sharper bursts of pain and riots of extremism were more effective.

If ever you thought you were having a bad day, just listen to this. Extreme and experimental, “Immortality through Quantum Suicide” captures a combination of dark physical, psychological and cosmic forces. It is 24 minutes of insane and unbridled imagination.

(8/10 Andrew Doherty)

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https://i-voidhangerrecords.bandcamp.com/album/immortality-through-quantum-suicide