Fäulnis - Gehirn zwischen wahn und sinn

Artist: Fäulnis

Album: Gehirn zwischen wahn und sinn

Release: May 29, 2009

Genre: (Experimental) Black Metal

Rating: A solid 90%. A definite worthwhile album.

Fuck, where do I begin here. I find myself so lost in the schizophrenic abstrusity that is "Gehirn zwischen wahn und sinn". This album ignores all of that which I have garnered black metal to be. Utter hopelessness wrapped in an almost inexplicably esoteric beauty. Unorthodox? Yes. Obscure? Certainly. Good? Fuck yeah.

The album opens with MorgenGrauen, and more specifically an abyssal wail that surely, if you are anything like myself, can only lead to good things. From there, the bass drops explosively, and we are thrown into an audio assault of the mind. We constantly flash between black metal and sludge; DSBM and doom. From the expected to the irrational. A band with more potentially assumed influences than Ween. If I were to attempt a comparison, Agrypnie would be what first comes to mind. And that is purely for the spontaneity of them both. On a solely musical basis, Fäulnis has clearly constructed for themselves a niche dissimilar to anything I have heard. The vocals are what truly solidified my adulation for this album. The "schizophrenia" inducing quality to the echoed voices leaves everything to the imagination. An imagination entirely contrasted by the weighted heaviness the music brings to the table. Kopfrieg is my personal highlight for the album, and at nearly 12 minutes in length, definitely a song worth giving a few solid listens to. A continuous (yet far from monotonous) "doomy" presence undertoning an inspiring blend of distressed indignation and daunting fervour. This backdropped by a pulsating and enigmatic atmosphere, painting a portrait both serene and terrifying. The entire album is broken by short and strange "interludes" of sorts. This is none too outlandish as far as black metal goes, but fittingly serves to further the feelings of comfortable destitute that make this album.

I realize I have given nothing but vague adjectives, and absolutely no music specificity, but to be honest, that is essentially what I would chalk the experience up to be. A journey through the depths of aural emotion. An escape into an almost surreal landscape of contrasting thought and feeling. A landscape laden with despair and a sense of longing. Music, veiled. A definite recommendation.

Explosions in the Sky - Take Care, Take Care, Take Care

Explosions in the Sky – Take Care, Take Care, Take Care

(Temporary Residence, 2011)

A seed of doubt had been planted. Yeah, Explosions in the Sky had not released a bad album before Take Care, Take Care, Take Care, but just like a tiny part of me thinks that there may actually be no godfearers left on the planet after tomorrow, a tiny part of me thought that this album might actually be bad.

             I first heard “Trembling Hands,” the third track on the album, about a month before the album’s release. This track was the cause of my confusion. I mean it is only 3:30 minutes. It has vocals (no actual lyrics, but vocals) on it. For a band known for eight minute plus post rock epics, this seemed to be a departure, and, taken out of my comfort zone for a moment, I was a bit worried about it. Still, I liked the track, and so I was torn between being excited that Explosions in the Sky might be trying something new, and being worried about it.

            Now, in the context of the full record, my initial thoughts on that one track seem to be a bit silly. If Explosions in the Sky are guilty of anything in regards to Take Care, it is that it is actually too similar to their other material. Many would see this as a problem, but I don’t really. Not every band should have to reinvent themselves every album. “Postcard from 1952” and “Last Known Surroundings” are as good, and as accessible, as Explosions’ best prior material. I don’t mean to imply that Explosions just do exactly the same thing on every single album, as there is a clear progression in their music from Those Who Tell The Truth Will Die, Those Who Tell The Truth Shall Live Forever through to All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone and now Take Care, but it has been, and continues to be, a slow progression.

           

            In between the typical reverb-drenched guitar tones, one can now find the aforementioned sparse vocals, although they feel like they might always have been a hallmark of Explosions. I’m not sure if it is the album’s production or if drummer Chris Hrasky has been possessed by something, but the drums cut through the wall of pretty guitars better than they ever have before, anchoring the whole album, especially during the bombastic crescendos so typical of Explosions in the Sky’s music.

            Take Care, Take Care, Take Care is an Explosions in the Sky record. It sounds a lot like their past records, but there’s nothing wrong with that. When it comes to creating epics that might actually conjure up feelings of staring at fireworks in wide-open skies, they’re the best at it. Why shouldn’t they keep doing what they’re good at?

-Ian Baker