This album is painted as one of contrasts, with dissonance, technical and brutal death metal, jazz and prog thrown in. This is the album from this band who released their first in 2012.
And indeed the first song is called “Contrasts”. The dissonance is there as is the fiery technical death metal. They weren’t wrong. It mashed with my brain in a deep and dark way. I like it. Although everyone in the band sounds to be on a different wavelength in a deliberate way, it drives forward and isn’t as circuitous as might be suggested. Its atmosphere suggests dark and empty spaces. Duly softened up, we move onto “Meanders” the track whose title suggests it might all be circuitous. Well it isn’t that and it isn’t circular either and once again this is no comfort zone as gloomy instrumental outpourings spew out in their abnormal way. It’s approaching the musical equivalent of a mental breakdown with some death metal vocals. Ephel Duath, I hear you cry. Yes, it is reminiscent of the Italians in their avant-garde moments, and there’s a jazziness about it too somewhere in the thicket.
“Prism” follows a similar pattern but has the air of a technical death metal drama, if such a thing exists. By “Source” it’s turned into expressions of Zero Hour, but with an exhilarating and exotic diversion mid-stream. The heavy chords continue into the next piece. I like this album but because of its lack of theme or continuity by virtue of the style, it seems like each piece is isolated, as Anachronism go on a journey through tangly bushes, come out the other side, stop and start all over again. You’re not going to be humming along to this. “Mirage” is at the darker end of the nervous breakdown scale, while “Macrocosm” starts moodily and ominously. The slower pace brings out the sinister side more than ever. Anachronism don’t do anything but heaviness. The eighth and final weighty tome is “Dialogues”. It is dissonant, relentless … and weighty. Pained post-metal screams echo forth and it comes to an end.
The only thing which perhaps surprised me was there was no track called “Endurance”. I didn’t find so many contrasts, such is the heaviness of style, but “Meanders” is 33 very musically accomplished minutes of substance.
(8/10 Andrew Doherty)
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