Russia

Inner Missing, Dead Language (Inverse Records 2022)

Wayne Edwards, , , , , ,

Inner Missing fashion gothic metal layers on their ninth album, Dead Language.

Inner Missing is a duo from Russia made up of Sigmund (vocals, guitar) and Melaer (keys, bass). In the early days of the band, their music leaned more toward doom identities. As time passed, a gothic sensibility took over. Since 2009, Inner Missing has released two EPs and eight full-length albums – an incredible accomplishment. Dead Language continues the saga.

What’s this album about? The band has an answer. “Aleister Crowley is one of the most iconic figures in Gothic culture and definitely the most misunderstood one ever. This is an attempt to rethink his poetry and reimagine his myth – no more, no less.” For a gothic metal album, that makes a lot of sense. Sigmund goes on to say a bit more about the theme of the music. “No one would argue that poetry is a dead language today and music is going to share its fate sooner or later. This album is an allegorical requiem to all forms of art that are already gone and to all forms of art that will be gone in the future.” That is a lot to work with, and they do.

Dead Language has six songs, beginning with the title track. The atmosphere created in the opening bars is frightening, edge-setting; gothic. The vocals in duet combine talking and singing in a way that deepens the delivery. The pace is slow, giving the concepts time to well up as momentum builds over the course of the song. “The Quest” is next and it takes a more active strategy in its formations. “Empty Rooms” lures you in with an increasingly ravening attitude tempered by melodic vocalizations.

Side Two opens with “Long Odds,” a song that has the feel of a quest into distant lands. “Mute” alternates disarmingly between softer incantations and grave, consequential intercessions. Final thoughts are offered with “At Sea.” You get the feeling hearing it that it is already too late to make any meaningful change and you must ride out whatever circumstance you are in. We all know what that is like, so the song invokes a shared understanding.

Dead Language is out now, available from Inverse Records. In the US, Bandcamp is the best buying bet. This is accessible gothic music and certainly worth a listen. Recommended.

Links.

Bandcamp, https://innermissing.bandcamp.com

Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/InnerMissing

Inverse Records, https://www.inverse.fi/shop/catalog/

Inner Missing, Dead Language (Inverse Records 2022)

Psilocybe Larvae, Where Silence Dwells (Fono Ltd. / Red Rivet Records 2021)

Wayne Edwards, , , , , ,

The new album from Russian metal band Psilocybe Larvae breaks a nine year silence with a clang and a roar.

The music of Psilocybe Larvae has strong progressive elements that frame the visages of death and doom. The band has released four previous albums: Stigmata (2000), Agony (2003), Non-Existence (2008), and The Labyrinth of Penumbra (2012). The line-up has jostled some over the years. The musicians on the new album are Vitaly Belobritsky (guitars, vocals), Alexey Legotin (bass), and Iliya Piyaev (drums), while in the current band Belobritsky and Legotin are joined by Anton Veresov (guitar) and Alexander Yakovlev (drums).

“The Flame Of Dying Life” is the first of ten tracks on the album and it sets a grim tone. It offers a dark frolic and a gentle growl to wave you in then drops the hammer with heavy punches and gravelly shouts. The feel is most gothic. The next song has a similar structure with a somewhat different timbre, followed by a notably different approach in “Ghost In The Room,” my vote for most memorable song on the album. The layers in this one are stretched to the very edge of complement and, even though the track starts out fairly up-tempo, it finds a way to build throughout. Good show.

There are heavier songs like “Dead Dreams,” which is full-on death metal turned at the corners toward a broader appeal. And then you hear “Sorvali Cemetery” which has a dooming sense to it and offers a number of surprises from the strings to the soaring middle ground. The album is sure to be a hit with the newer generation of heavy music fans and it also holds sway over more seasoned listeners like me with it callbacks and essential roots. Recommended.

Where Silence Dwells hits the streets Friday, December 10th in digital. The CD version will be released by Fono Ltd. (Russia) and Red Rivet Records (Japan) on December 15th, and a cassette version comes out that day, too. The vinyl LP is set for a February release.

Links.

Bandcamp, https://psilocybelarvae.bandcamp.com/

Website, http://psilocybe-larvae.ru/

Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/psilocybelarvae

Psilocybe Larvae, Where Silence Dwells (Fono Ltd. / Red Rivet Records 2021)

Abigorum, Vergessene Stille (Void Wanderer 2021)

Wayne Edwards, , , , , , , , , ,

The Melodic Black Metal duo Abigorum have finished their second full-length album, Vergessene Stille.

The band is Aleksey Korolyov from Russia and Tino Thiele of Germany. Their previous album, Exaltatus Mechanism, came out in 2019 (with former bandmate Sandra Batsch in the mix). While the music contains many styles, the primary elements are Black Metal and Doom, tied together with ambient intentions.

There are five tracks on the album, four long pieces and a short wind-down at the end. The opener is “Erhebt eure mit Blut gefüllten Hörner” and it is the perfect example of the overarching trajectory of the music with its clear Black Metal persuasion casting about in the Doom and dread. “Der geheimnisvolle Käfig” has a more up-tempo, almost peppy opening segment, but it quickly takes a dark turn, showing you something menacing in the shadows before the bright-light distraction kicks back in. When it comes back, though, there is a demon in there. This song is sinister, and it is the one I remember most.

The title track leads Side 2, followed by “Zerbrechlicher kleiner Geist.” The former brings a maddening warbling drone that transforms into deep Doom and a weighty feeling of sorrow, while the latter has a more theatrical feel to it, painting dark images in penetrating tones. The final word is “Rast und Abschied.” At first it sounds like a storm rumbling up from the void, but then it turns into a curse, and maybe an unsettling prediction. Taken together, the music from Abigorum on this album is a unique and fluid combination of ideas expressed in a captivating theater. Recommended.

Vergessene Stille is out on April 13th in a variety of forms. Duplicate Records will release an LP version, Satanath Records and Black Blood Records will have CD versions, and Void Wanderer Productions is producing a cassette version. There is also always the digital download.

Links.

Bandcamp, https://abigorum.bandcamp.com/album/vergessene-stille

Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/abigorum

Void Wanderer, https://voidwanderer.com/

Duplicate Records, https://duplicaterecords.no/

Satanath Records, http://satanath.com/

Black Blood Records, https://www.blackbloodrecords.de/html/01-news.html

Abigorum, Vergessene Stille (Void Wanderer 2021)