I’ll be entirely honest and say that despite being in this music reviewing lark for a wee while, I know next to nothing about the Polish metal scene. With the exception of the rather excellent Corruption, my only encounters with the product of that nation were of the type too extreme for my more conservative (that’s a small “c” folks, and call me a sodding Tory and I will not be happy!) musical tastes. As such, to get a CD hailing from Poland, namely ‘Presomnia’ care of MuN, was more than a little intriguing.
Seven single word titled tracks make up the album, the sparingly named and played ‘Intro’ offering a promise of a dreamy journey with more than a few tendrils of sweet smoke lacing through the initially laconic beats, the drums building up in urgency as the track progresses. ‘Scowl’ continues to deliver the laid back with hypnotic riffs and tribal sounding percussion, and I thought it may well be time to get my Grateful Dead head on. However, things get all the more urgent and punchy when the vocals start up, deeply intoned verses delivered with more than a touch of Peter Steele’s deep baritone before the singer starts channelling his inner demons care of a barrage of death metal growls. Prog touches redolent of Tool at their less pretentious echo through the opening of ‘Arthur’, the song building from the gentle and inward looking to a walloping wall of growls and distortion, whilst follow up ‘Topple’ had a jangly guitar sound and pained vocals that could have been delivered by Ian Curtis before again building up the intensity into a full on sonic tsunami.
After the blackened howls of the short and not at all sweet interlude of ‘Deceit’, MuN start flexing their Progressive muscles with ‘Verity’, the opening bass and guitar interaction hearkening to the long distant days where Roger Waters and Dave Gilmour played together so harmoniously to the joy of their audience rather than sniped at each other through the media, the eight minute plus running time allowing the instruments to create a psychedelic soundscape before the growls begin. Oh, and if you think that eight minute plus number is too long for you, wait until you are plunged into the thirteen minute depths of closer ‘Decree’, the epic length allowing it to take in elements as diverse as the minimalistic lone bass opening, indistinct dreamy vocals, and full on larynx mangling growls over an amplified cacophony that gives way to a gentle stoner refrain.
‘Presomnia’ is a bizarre combination of sounds, not all of which go together well to my ears. Indeed, it sometimes sounded as if in an out of field move Elder had hired John Tardy as their singer, a combination that whilst I’d pay to see, is not one I’d ever expect to happen. The album variously lulls you into a zone of gentle comfort, and then slaps you around the head with its ebb and flow between the soothing and the downright obnoxious. That MuN are willing to go for this somewhat different approach is to be commended, and if you like to mix your extreme with your mellow, this may well be just what you are looking for.
(6.5/10 Spenny)
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