Somnolent - Renaissance Unraveling (CD)

Review
Mtuk Metal Zine

“What is Beyond?” asks the band in a Post Metal kind of way. This is one of those albums which explores the inner mind and its relation to the outer empty world. On the way there are phobias, uncertainty, suffering and more. The outlook, like the album’s cover, is bleak. You’ll gather than that this isn’t the cheeriest album you’ll hear this year.

Musically, “Renaissance Unraveling”, which is the Ukrainian band’s second full release, passes through a series of dark avenues in line with its lyrical themes. It wouldn’t be true to say that it’s disjointed but it’s not fluid either. There are contrasts. The first two tracks of the album are in a late 1960s/early 1970s Hard Rock style with a more modern Death Metal edge. It’s frenzied and upbeat as well as being heavy and hard hitting. It’s almost psychedelic. The mood then changes completely.

“Visible World Eraser” is the start of a series of dark pieces. It starts in a mellow fashion with minimalistic guitar work. A melancholic vibe is created yet it develops into something quite funky. This is music for the night, probably best accompanied by a few JDs. It’s as if Steely Dan have gone progressive. It takes its time. The mood changes again and we hear the harsh growls like early Tiamat. There’s a dreamy guitar solo. It’s not party time. “Visible World Eraser” is one of the more fathomable tracks. “P.R.O.S.E” and “Solipsistic Exfoliation” distinctly deviate from the norm, if there is such a thing here. I can only describe the difficult “P.R.O.S.E” as harshly Progressive. “Solipsistic Exfoliation” is on the face of it more simplistic. It’s marked as an instrumental but there are darkly spoken utterances accompanied by a strange, avant-garde backing. In between, there are a pair of psychologically challenging tracks under the headings “Chrysalis Verge”. The two parts are entitled “Inside” and “Tearing Out”. What we seem to be inside is a deeply disturbed mind. It’s doomy with a harsh, retro Death vocal style. It’s tough going. I don’t know what mood you have to be in to listen to this. The knife of confusion is twisted a little further when there’s an interesting and colourful bit of picking towards the end. The final track “Division of Nihil” continues in the familiar abnormal vein. The vocalist talks and growls through a gloomy soft guitar set. It meanders on but it’s delicate and almost groovy. An intermittent and sophisticated drum pattern adds further interest.

My responses to this album are mixed. It’s adventurous, bizarre and bordering on the unfathomable. “Renaissance Unraveling” could loosely be described as piece of Progressive Doom. It’s not intended to be easy listening and patently aspires to generate an uncomfortable atmosphere, in line with the psychotic theme. It may not be nice, but it can be seen as a successful representation of a disturbed mind in a disturbed world.

Author: Andrew Doherty