First a word of caution : I will not be using the actual titles of the songs, rather referring to track numbers. Why, you ask ? Because they appear as indecipherable symbols in my player (its all Greek to my laptop ha ha). Oh the joys of the electronic age ! However, thanks to my resourceful editor , you can see the transliterated song titles in the track list.
The first track is a trance inducing intro based on clean yet mysterious guitar notes, layered forward and backwards. It ends quickly though, which is a surprising change in this age of ridiculously and often unnecessarily long pieces. The second starts out heavy, murky and truly kvlt-like, speeding up to a truly chaotic din before touching upon a more ambient moody bases. I really dig the odd timbres that occasionally show up in the reverbed soundscape, yet the eerie and mysterious feel cannot be be mistaken for anything but a sick bastard son of black metal. The leadwork is shackle raising, as are vocals that crop up (both the typical black metal type and the truly unhinged moments).
This is a difficult listen, yet with enough quirks and nifty details as well as atmosphere to make it palatable for the more adventurous metal fans. The shorter, yet just as suffocatingly heavy Track 3, is epic at 2:20, with some death industrial elements. Track 4 reminds me of a more folky, regional Arcturus. This band knows its haunting chords and progressions for sure. The odd squeals, growls and moans alongside the tremolo work made me doubt my sanity (which is not very solid ground to begin with). My 5 years old son also drew some of his weirdest dinosaurs while being in the same room while I was immersed in this mind fuck of a release.
Track 6 continues the theme, being a more realized and complete slice of european folk black madness. The site mentions that the special boxed tape version of the album come with the album tape in a book, a burned tape and hand made mixed media artwork. I can only assume that George (the mastermind behind this project) would have included more, if it had not been time for his medicine. By the time the male choir kicks in track 7, I am completely in love with this tribute to anthropic darkness. Thank you This is Past, for renewing my faith in newer breeds of black metal (for the sake of classifying it as something). Trust me, this is as crazy and utterly raving mad as you can imagine, but relying on a number of different weapons to get its message of human despair and dementia, all the while managing to be musically interesting by retaining a sense of dynamics and subtle compositional concepts. The closing track is hard to describe, being closer to some kind of black ritual / noise / industrial hybrid that is unclear and vague, like it was recording from the next room, ending abruptly with a couple of clear piano notes. George’s professed love for the Residents shines through, in his refusal to cater to the cliches of extreme metal. I dig the way that apparently standard instrumentation is occasionally used to create very non-standard (and occasionally industrial) moods.
The album is over quickly, which works perfectly as it never overstays its welcome, and leaves you wanting more. Put this on to be reminded of the laughable futility of our existence, and the precarious balance of the human mind.
– Suleiman
VITALS:
Release: 2011
Label: Self-Released
Avantgenre: Dementia
Duration: 40:44
Origin: Greece
Official site: http://thisispast.blogspot.com/
Review online since: 07.01.2012 / 06:35:58
TRACKLIST:
01 – Parelthon
02 – Satanas
03 – Thanatos
04 – Teletoyrgia
05 – Nuchta
06 – Kolash
07 – Dakrya
08 – Misanthropia
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