(written by Islander)
The Swedish musician Andreas Karlsson has been on a creative hot streak since 2021. Beginning in that year his solo project Februus has pumped out a demo, three EPs, and a debut album named Surveillance Orgy. These releases caught the attention of Transcending Obscurity Records, which will enthusiastically release the second Februus album on September 4th of this year. Its name is Construction of Conflict.
“Fascinating and eccentric”, “packed with plenty of deviations and surprises”, “while maintaining a deceptively rough, clamorous demeanour”. These are among the descriptions of the new album proffered by Transcending Obscurity, along with FFO references that include the likes of Edge of Sanity, Pan.Thy.Monium, Demilich, Disharmonic Orchestra, and Defect Designer.
“Progressive Death Metal” is a logical label for what goes on within Construction of Conflict, though the breadth of that classification leaves a lot un-said. The songwriting displayed within Construction of Conflict has its own logic, though the music is so spectacularly head-spinning and exhilarating that it might not be immediately obvious.
You’ll understand when you listen to the song we’re gleefully premiering today — “Suicide By Proxy“.
“Suicide By Proxy” lures listeners with a dreamlike overture, a conjunction of wistful piano melody and low-frequency musings, and then suddenly disrupts that small spell with a furious surge of darting riffage that menacingly growls and maniacally whines — a surge accompanied by rambunctious drumming and bubbling bass throbs. It’s the first of many sudden changes to come.
Februus also quickly shifts into phases of vicious tremolo’d riffing, harrowing growls, and crazed drum progressions, as well as further adaptations of those ecstatically whining and mercurially darting arpeggios. The layered fretwork is virtuosic but macabre, insectile but also woozily melodic.
The guitars buzz and spurt, flail about at sharp angles and fluidly wail. The percussion somersaults and blasts away like weaponry. The vocals sound like ravenous beasts choking on what they’re furiously consuming.
Again with no warning, another classical piano melody banishes the rioters and ripples another spell, and again without warning the music then dismally brays and furiously batters.
“Fascinating and eccentric” — that’s indeed what this music is. The song is elaborate, eye-popping in its execution, and frequently berserk (as well as mesmerizing), but even on one listen (though many more will be rewarded) Februus stitches peculiar little repeating motifs through the mania like colorful threads that create a strange design. There is indeed a method to the madness.
Andreas Karlsson performed all vocals, guitar, bass, electronic sounds, and drum programming on Construction of Conflict. The album features cover painting, layout, and logo by Daniel Karlsson. It was mixed by Andreas Karlsson and mastered by Mattias Persson.
Transcending Obscurity will release the album on CD and digital formats, with lots of apparel offerings and other merch. Along with the usual links we’re also including streams of two previously released songs from the record, “Measures of Escalation” and “Genocide by Default“.
PRE-ORDER:
https://februusdm.bandcamp.com/album/construction-of-conflict
http://us.tometal.com/
http://transcendingobscurity.aisamerch.com/
https://eu.tometal.com/
FEBRUUS:
https://facebook.com/Februusband
https://instagram.com/februus.band