![]() ![]() ![]() The type of person who won’t watch foreign films because subtitles are too much work, or who just plain old isn’t in the mood to think too hard. It is a challenging listen in a way that might turn some people off. Not drastically, but enough to help you place another piece of the puzzle where you feel it belongs. The bass playing is astonishing throughout the entire record, and the heavier rhythm guitars are assertive, but not in the way of anything else.Īll of these things and more are available at any given moment during “ Zwart vierkant,” and what you will find upon repeated listening is that your perspective on what you’re hearing will shift each time. During other parts of the album you can hear surf guitar, funeral brass, choral chants over jazzy blues chords, and swing beats. That’s just track one, “Maria Segovia,” which songwriter Ruben Wijlacker likens to “a very violent wakeup call.”īy the second track, the moss-gathering boulder-like forcefulness of Michael Gira’s Swans can be heard waltzing with an evil yet oddly graceful disposition. Mixed with both spoken urgency and the screams of a man who is desperate, angry, terrified, and determined all at once. On top of that, vocally, there is a bit of the anger one can find on early Enslaved records. While the drums may sound like Art Blakey, Paco de Lucia is in the corner playing a flamenco lullaby, and Quorthon is strumming an Ibanez Destroyer through a maxed out 20 watt Yamaha. You can hear jazz, but not from every instrument at once. In true experimental fashion, it manages to sound familiar while remaining very much its own entity. Perhaps the most striking thing about this music is its diversity. All four of those bands exist a bit outside the typical fringes of the avant-garde game, and believe me when I say Grey Aura sit quite comfortably in such company. Bands the likes of Blut Aus Nord, Aastraal, Panopticon, and Liturgy are the closest I can come to making a solid comparison as far as Metal goes. Grey Aura’s second full length, after more than a six year break, is finally upon us! I was lucky enough to hear an advanced copy of “Zwart vierkant,” so I’ve been sitting on my excitement for a while! This is extremely forward-looking atmospheric/avant-garde Black Metal that challenges at every turn, and I love an album that makes me think. ![]()
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