Black Shape of Nexus: Carrier

I admire this band's lack of a united front. The promotional materials for this album suggest that this album came together with plenty of disagreement and that what we have is the product of when things simply stopped, not when they were necessarily finished. I believe what I'm reading here, but I can't help but wonder if there isn't a little humor behind all this as well. Sludge this grimy and this heavy probably needs to come from a dark place, one that shouldn't be easy to create with a simple tuning up of the guitars and a tightening of the drums. This is the kind of music that sinks deep into the nightmares it conjures up, that stares death in the face, and understands the ways human beings identify with the worst in themselves. I'm making it sound overly dramatic, but Black Shape of Nexus is really no ordinary band.

Just listen to the first couple of tracks on this album. They are dark and eerie and sometimes frustrating. "I Can't Play It" is solid but takes a strange detour into a guitar solo that took things too far afield. I really hated the overly long introductory section of "Lift Yourself," but I was also hypnotized by its pulsing strangeness. The track seemed deliberately agitating, as though the band was trying to create discomfort—and try my patience. When things take off—and they do to great effect—the wait was worth it.

I think I admire the idea of the band's willingness to try out eclectic musical ideas, to make mistakes, and to make me uncomfortable than I actually liked the album. As I mentioned above, the band goes to very dark and unexpected places and the results are not always the best, but I think the risk was worth the trouble. Still, I liked tracks like "Facepunch Transport Layer" that begin with an exciting, chugging, riff and then add other ingredients (like strange ethereal vocals) to mix things up. I'd suggest choosing a couple of tracks on this one and listening to them carefully. If the style works for you, you're probably a budding fan of Black Shape of Nexus. I liked "Facepunch Transport Layer" and "Triumph of Death."

Track Listing:
1. I Can't Play It
2. Lift Yourself
3. Sand Mountain
4. Facepunch Transport Layer
5. Sachsenheim
6. Triumph of Death

Added: April 18th 2016
Reviewer: Carl Sederholm
Score:
Related Link: Band Website
Hits: 1579
Language: english

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