Locrian
Infinite Dissolution
In the solar
system of metal, speed metal bands occupy that Mercury orbit, racing around the
sun, completing a year’s worth of notes in eighty-eight days. Death metal’s orbit comes in around Earth and
Mars, all noisy and raw. The infinite
variety of asteroid designs in the more traditional power metal and thrash
realms complete the inner solar system of tight, loud, and hard music. Beyond lie the more sedate gas giants where
bands like Zu, Hope Drone and Locrian laze through their orbits. Locrian’s Infinite
Dissolution moves sedately through its landscape of emptiness, animated
nonetheless by the solar gravitational pull of metal – the photonic wind of guitars
and powerful drums.
Infinite
Dissolution opens with the distortion-heavy “Arc of Extinction,” a track
that feels like it’s building towards something before ending in nothing; an
apt musical metaphor for a band that explores “[u]rban decay, environmental
destruction… and post-apocalyptic themes.” The trio forces themselves to explore all these
heavy themes with naught but instrumental tools. The very few vocals on the album scream
primal rage into the void without giving voice to their pain.
Founders Andre Foisy
on guitar and Terrence Hannum playing keyboards fill the remainder of the album’s
tracks feature much “cleaner” music, stowing away the distortion pedal for use
another day. The third member of this
trio, experimental musician Stephen Hess bringing a creative mass of
electronics, and banging the drums helps the tempo within each track to vary and skew and meander,
but never does the void ever get filled or the pain ever get solace.
In a busy, noisy,
pain-filled, depressing, and soul-crushing world, taking a quiet hour of exploration
with Locrian cannot be undervalued.
These gents have gifted us something magical: a collection that
describes this world without getting trapped by it, carrying us with them above
and beyond, but never forgetting.
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