Prepare to enter the warped and avant-garde realm of unconventional black metal mixed with electronic and industrial elements on the new release from, The Bleak. You literally find yourself falling down a rabbit hole into a dark land of complete electronic insanity on this album which is titled, “Unwritten.”
Here is another artist that was featured on the compilation from Ritual Abuse Hysteria that I reviewed a few months back, and out of all the bands on the compilation this one was without question the most unorthodox. The overall sound and production reminds of certain bands that tend to work with Sentient Ruin, especially bands like Decoherence, 6th Circle and DSKNT. The raw and harsh black metal elements are present, but you are also thrown plenty of nasty sounding electronic curve balls. Imagine the soundtrack to an avant-garde futuristic horror film featuring some of the most unimaginable and incomprehensible scenarios.
The Bleak seems to be onto something, however, there are moments on this album where the rush of chaotic industrial elements tends to sound a bit cluttered and leaves the listener feeling overwhelmed at times. On the album’s opening track, “Consume and Destroy,” there is no time wasted jumping right into the twisted sounding landscape which The Bleak feverishly conjures up. Even with all this anxiety inducing noise, the black metal style vocals and the haunting raw arrangements really stand out and create a sinister sounding atmosphere. The second track, “Culminate in Annihilation,” deals out a punishing electronic attack right from the very beginning, thus making you feel like the world is completely falling apart.
As I stated before, there are moments where the music can be completely overwhelming and sounds like the artist is running around in a variety of directions, but if you continue listening to the entire album you find yourself getting to hear some really strong pieces of blackened industrial. “Chamber of Seclusion,” and “Rift,” are two tracks that really caught my attention after listening to the entire album. “Rift,” is a short song, however, packs a might punch by laying down some agonizing rhythms mixed with demonic like noises in the background. Then to wrap it all up, “I Can Hear You Breathing,” is a solid ending track given the amount of hellish hallucinogenic torment that was heard on most of this release.
Overall I have to credit this band for coming up with a very atypical sounding release, because even though the music at times sounded like somebody completely lost their mind, the ability to put this album together is a very impressive feat. Experimentation can sometimes cause an album to come crashing down after the first couple tracks, but I thought for the most part the band was able to deliver, and you do get some unique sounding moments to maintain your interest. Like any band that has a sound which draws from a variety of harsh sounding elements, my best advice would be to keep pushing and exploring, but also think about production and keeping it sounding tight. The Bleak’s, “Unwritten,” is highly worth checking out and will hopefully be one of many twisted offerings for fans to check out in the future.
Bandcamp Link :
https://ritualabusehysteria.bandcamp.com/album/unwritten
I like how you give a band constructive critism without being brutal, like some reviewers.
ReplyDeleteFair and balanced, that's you Robby.