Seagulls Insane and Swans Deceased Mining Out the Void

Seagulls Insane and Swans Deceased Mining Out the Void

Written by: MGA on 26/09/2012 23:43:25

And now it's time for something different.

Seagulls Insane and Swans Deceased Mining Out the Void is a strange name for a band. It's also a strange name for an album. And, as luck would have it, it's some strange music too.

Seagulls is a two-piece featuring an ex-Behemoth member, and the music on this record -- their debut album -- presents a bit of a conundrum. While the band is pitched as post-black metal, the Polish act is by no means meant to be grouped with bands like Altar of Plagues or deafheaven or any of the other modern purveyors of this vague genre. In fact, Seagulls' music is decidedly industrial at times, to the point that the genre they're playing is some sort of industrial blackened doom metal that is absent of blast beats.

Needless to say, whether you like this or not is going to depend upon how much artificiality you can tolerate in your music. Is industrial music computer nonsense to you, or is it a way of creating a vibe and setting a mood that traditional instruments cannot?

The five tracks on this record -- each a Roman Numeral, in what is becoming a played out theme across the extreme music spectrum -- all feature dissonant, slow riffs that unfold with a lurch and death rattle while vocalist Havoc shrieks beneath the musical disarray. And while chaos is certainly the sonic goal here, the band does occasionally end up in some surprising grooves, such as during the "chorus" on track 2.

Still, the name of the game here is atmosphere through dissonance, and in this sense, Seagulls Insane and Swans Deceased Mining Out the Void are decidedly black metal. If you're capable of keeping an open mind and don't pray on your hands and knees beneath your Mayhem poster every morning, you will almost certainly find something to take away from this dark piece of work.

7

Download: II, III, V
For The Fans Of: Type O Negative, Ygg, Ulver
Listen: Witching Hour website

Release Date 25.11.2011
Witching Hour Productions

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