(written by Islander)
“Seductive”, “surreal”, “spellbinding” and “sublime” aren’t words usually deployed in describing the music of a band whose principle genre partition is technical death metal, even for an alliteration-addicted writer such as me. But those aspects of the song we’re about to premiere are precisely what make it stand out so memorably.
Those are also among the aspects of The Scalar Process’s new album Agnomysticism that led their label Transcending Obscurity Records to describe it as reflecting “simply staggering” progress beyond the band’s debut full-length Coagulative Matter five years ago.
To be clear, progressive tendencies and a penchant for creating mysterious and meditative moods were already evident on the band’s debut, and to be further clear, the new album still often includes instrumental performances of fast-paced, eye-popping dexterity, but the new one is far away from a non-stop thundering waterfall of notes and beats, and you need look no further than “Far From the Flesh” to find convincing proof of that.
The last time we premiered music by this French band, back during the run-up to their debut album, we described the vocals as akin to the roaring of a rabid mastiff. As you’ll see, that description still works. The gruff, raging barks and bellows leap between the channels as if the beast is furiously trying to pull out its chains — but sometimes joined by demonic screams.
The instrumental performances, on the other hand, are intricate and often elegant, and that’s just one of many startling contrasts the music provides. By way of further contrast, the song includes both weaponized drum assaults and rapidly darting or maniacally quivering fretwork but also blazing flows of high-arcing, brightly shining sound.
The music rhythmically jolts but also fluidly swirls, and the bass loosens bowels but sometimes seem to nimbly meander and to muse in the midst of searing sonic waves. Way up in the sonic stratosphere futuristic tones slowly swirl and sparkle, wail and warble. Near the end, the music becomes dreamily jazzy and thoroughly entrancing, guiding listeners into a beautiful drifting away as the final moments pass.
The band’s lineup lists two guitarists but no keyboardist, and of course guitars can be made to sound like almost anything these days, yet the melodies that unfold in this song do occasionally sound like synths or other keys and even a saxophone, further enriching the wonderful textures of the song.
THE SCALAR PROCESS:
Eloi Nicod – Guitar / Composition / Production
Mathieu Lefevre – Vocals / Lyrics
Lucas Martinez – Guitar
Vincent Amar – Bass
Thomas Giroud – Drums
GUESTS:
Andy Thomas (Rivers of Nihil) clean vocals on “Incessant Continuum”
Justin Mckinney (The Zenith Passage) guitar solo on “Illness”
Transcending Obscurity will release Agnomysticism on May 29th, on vinyl LP, jewelcase CD, and digital formats, along with apparel and other merch options that also feature the compelling cover art by Celest.C.
T.O. recommends the record for fans of Fallujah, The Zenith Passage, and Rivers Of Nihil (and we might add Imperial Triumphant to that list). As further evidence of the album’s musical strengths, we’re also including videos for two previously released songs — “A Breathing Moment” and “Illness“.
PRE-ORDER:
https://thescalarprocess.bandcamp.com/album/agnomysticism
http://transcendingobscurity.aisamerch.com/
http://eu.tometal.com/
THE SCALAR PROCESS:
https://facebook.com/TheScalarProcess
https://instagram.com/thescalarprocess