ALBUM REVIEW: Infinite Games – The Black Queen

When THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN announced their breakup last year, fans of the schizophrenic metallers could take solace knowing that it wouldn’t be the last we’d see of their hugely talented lineup. In the case of singer Greg Puciato, this meant a return to THE BLACK QUEEN alongside bandmates Josh Eustis and Steve Alexander.

Much has changed in the two years since THE BLACK QUEEN‘s debut release of Fever Daydream with all three battling personal demons and angst, and these experiences have fed right into Infinite Games, the band’s sophomore album released today under their own label, Federal Prisoner.

Unsurprisingly, Infinite Games picks up where its predecessor left off, meaning that if you enjoy that particular record, the stylings of NINE INCH NAILS and even the darker elements of synthwave used by GOST and THE MIDNIGHT, this is well worth a listen. Painting a barren wasteland of melancholy and anguish across three quarters of an hour, incredibly it’s bleaker than Fever Daydream; even the tracks with a slight uplift in mood, lead single Thrown Into the Dark with its catchy chorus and Lies About You, are still hiding in the shade.

Across the record, Puciato returns to the brittle, tortured clean vocals from before, setting the scene for the whole album on opener Even Still I Want To as the ambience swirls and disorientates, almost whispering every lyric with fragility and sadness. The sorrowful No Accusations, featuring the quite brilliant line “There is nothing that I want more than to die with you right next to me” could have easily come from TRENT REZNOR during the days of The Downward Spiral and the sprawling Impossible Condition effortlessly consumes and envelopes, drawing the listener in and leaving them enthralled by the sheer morbid beauty of it all. Your Move is probably the heaviest in terms of atmosphere and gravitas however, its simpler structure allowed the expanse to invade all headspace afforded to it, the audible equivalent to the fog of war.

We are blessed to be living at the same time as Puciato, Eustis and Alexander, a triumvirate of brilliant minds who are creating something so solemn and exquisite in equal parts and Infinite Games is testament to that from beginning to end. If this ends up being their main project, it’s going to take a serious amount to stop them.

Rating: 9/10

Infinite Games is out now via Federal Prisoner.

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