ALBUM REVIEW: Form in Motion – Autarkh

By the end of last decade, Michel Nienhuis of avant-garde black metallers DODECAHEDRON knew the band he formed in 2006 as ORDER OF THE SOURCE BELOW wouldn’t be long for the scrapheap, and he had to find a new way to allow his artistic and creative talents to flourish. Instead of forming a new band to play similar music, he decided to push musical boundaries even more and formed a team comprising him, a guitarist, an electronica expert and an outright producer and sound designer to form AUTARKH who, like Nienhuis’ former band, signed to Season of Mist. Their debut album is released via that label – Form in Motion.

Every genre needs artists willing to break the mould, to twist constructs until they snap and new ones are born. Whilst AUTARKH aren’t the only band who have produced music in recent years that’s very much off the beaten path – ORANSSI PAZUZU and IGORRR are two such names – neither of those, even the latter, could lay claim to being as abrasive and genuinely terrifying as Form in Motion is at times. This is the musical equivalent of Artaud’s Theatre of Cruelty, forty-seven and a half minutes of thunderous blast beats and jarring synthesis played at ear-splitting volumes whilst Nienhuis delivers a wide variety of vocals from ferocious screams to semi-clean harmonies. Even the interludes – opening track Primitive Constructs, Impasse and closing number Zeit ist nur eine Illusion – are just as unpleasant; the only difference is they’re shorter.

When it comes to the full length tracks, the industrial backing to Turbulence brushes with aggrotech territory that would give COMBICHRIST in their prime a run for their money, whilst Nienhuis‘ soul-rendering vocals in Cyclic Terror have a nu-metal tinge to them a la Jonathan Davies, David Draiman and Corey Taylor – in Introspectrum, there’s a hint of the Burton C Bell as well. Talking of Taylor, Lost to Sight is what SLIPKNOT would have sounded like if they’d taken the dark and demented tone they so beautifully presented on Iowa and made it even more sordid; even the fade out feels like it’s going to tear your face off as it disappears.

And yet, despite all of this, there’s only one way to listen to this, and that’s with good headphones at full blast. Yes, it’s not an easy listen in the slightest and it could be too much for some, but it’s surprising at how much impact is lost when the volume is turned down a few notches. Clouded Aura, for example, is certainly more palatable when quieter, but it feels too safe; it’s only when it’s unleashed at maximum capacity does it really flourish. The same holds true for Alignment; the entire second half of the song is little more than guitar, cymbals and an electronic backing that coalesce into something similar to the jarring effect white noise can have, before it gets even more uncomfortable as it segues into the final track. However, if the volume is lowered, the ‘enjoyment’ of the songs, if such a word can be used, isn’t as potent, a strange juxtaposition that almost dares the listener to risk their eardrums for a fuller experience.

Perseverance will be key for anyone wishing to take on AUTARKH, but the rewards are certainly reaped. Form in Motion will leave listeners jaded whether it’s their first listen or their one hundred and first, yet those who want something to get hearts racing and pulses thumping will find plenty to enjoy here.

Rating: 7/10

Form In Motion is set for release March 12th via Season of Mist. 

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