This album is the follow-up to the Dutch band’s 2020 release “Form in Motion”. Justifying the description of Autarkh’s music as “contemporary extreme metal”, “Form in Motion” took us to all sorts of strange places, treating us to epic, industrial and heavy passages along the way. “Emergent” is billed as “a sonic exploration of the inner universe where all things light and dark can be encountered”.
For reference we’re told this is for fans of Dodecahedron, Strapping Young Lad and Igorr. Autarkh dig out their own path. The structures are unusual. “Open Focus”, which opens the album, has a heavy beat but blends in the classic style of dark heavy metal with both a cosmic and industrial sound. The high-pitched vocals hang in the air. Drums pound and there’s an impressive expanse and weightiness about it. “Strife” sounds as if we’re witnessing an extra-terrestrial intervention. I know last time I compared Autarkh to Darkane but for me it’s impossible to avoid this comparison again. The difference is the cyber-industrial feel which sends a chill through the air. “Strife” depicts to my ears a horrible industrial process. The irregular vocals fit in perfectly to this extremely sinister environment. So far I’ve not heard much light in this inner universe. Deep electro waves start “Duhka”. A voice screams. For a moment it is post-industrial but Autarkh don’t leave the disturbance there, moving forward with echoing cyber distortion. It is the stuff of nightmares.
We drift murkily from this to the violent eruption of “Trek”, an industrial black piece in the mould of Anaal Nathrakh. Haunting, obscure voices can be heard as the backdrop continues to be nasty, extreme and malevolent. There’s a roaring wind as the sound of the drum rains down on us. From somewhere the song emerges from violence into uncomfortable daylight and an epic, emotive soundscape. It’s a clever development. A more mechanical beat characterises the dark and sinister “Refocus”. Autarkh focus consistently on a disturbing world, hitting us hard and filling the gaps with extremity and distortions. “Refocus” is like steel being hammered into shape in a factory. It precedes “Aperture”, which does nothing to help our mental state, dreamily and darkly passing through the air in waves. “Eye of Horus” is like a wake-up call from a nightmare, but thanks to its distorted and irregular pattern it does nothing to appease that nightmare. We seem to be drifting further and further away from any recognisable reality. The reality we have here is one of suffering and disturbance. Screams mix with sinister instrumental lines on “Countless Kaleidoscopes”. Behind the dark drum beat and constant guitar rhythm, voices rise strongly above it all. Switching to a cosmic dream, the voice on “Ka” switches to a whisper. The drum beats firmly again amid the expanse of noise as this mysterious album comes to an epic finale.
Once again Autarkh have created an intriguing world. The music is full-on and diverse. The overriding impression that “Emergent” gives is of a series of weighty and psychologically disturbing experiences.
(7.5/10 Andrew Doherty)
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