Country: Germany
Genre: Post Metal, Post Hardcore, Post Rock, Crust, Sludge, Noise Rock
Label: Wooaaargh!
Tracks: 9
Length: 40.32'
German post-crust experimental veterans [B.ABUSE] bring an elegiac atmosphere with their fifth full length release; 'Memories Of Better Days Are Gone'.
Right from the opening track there is something unusual about this
band, immediately blending rolling post-rock atmosphere with a cross
between Neurosis' hoarse bellow and clean, Cure-like vocal inflections
and punching, punk-touched drums. They seek to push the listener with
tracks walking the mid-tempo tension line, building from the simplest
foundations (in the case of the opener just two chords), and advancing
in movements to a point of critical mass, sometimes a brief blastbeat,
often a crescendo of noise.
This
is a band that manage to summon nostalgic sounds, classic Godflesh,
Voivod, The Jesus Lizard, Discharge etc and fuse it into dream-like
chryssalis of noise in these songs. Each feels very self contained, and
considering the 'post' tag, very reasonable in length. Of the 8 tracks,
only one is significantly longer than 5 minutes (the showstopping
penultiumate near-ballad 'Zerfall') clocking in at just over 9. The
refusal to disappear into self-congratulatory pretension is something
that sets [B.ABUSE] aside from their contemporaries and
certainly makes this album worth checking out. The band's ability to
move between, for example, Math type hardcore chord stabbing, tidal
synth atmosphere and traditional metal riffing is consummate and
profound.
According to [B.ABUSE]
"Everybody was harmed during the making of this record", this is
believable in the sounds archived here, though the songs are all
intrinsically different, they are tied together by a common thread of
mourning that pervades the release. There is something on this album for
anyone who considers themsleves a music fan, and the air of sorrow,
though pervasive, does not weigh the music down or crush the listener
with 'heaviness', the diversity of this release has to be heard to be
believed. Not content with holding onto the weight of the Godflesh
comparison, or the chaos of someone like Merzbow, or the atmosphere of
maybe Mogwai, but managing to touch all these extreme ends threads on an
album without metal pretension is something to be lauded.
(Press Note)
*This is some seriously awesome post metal, post hardcore, post rock, crust, sludge, and noise rock from Germany! Amazing album! Enjoy!
