ALBUM REVIEW: Plague God – Absent In Body
Take members of some of metal’s most legendary names, collect them under a new moniker and release an intense, harrowing industrial post-metal album; such is the MO of ABSENT IN BODY. Featuring members of AMENRA, NEUROSIS and SEPULTURA, there’s simply no way that whatever would come of such a collaboration wouldn’t be of interest to metal fans, regardless of genre. What their debut album, Plague God is, is not a distillation of some of the appeal of those bands, but a new entity unto itself. It may draw from members’ previous work, but expands on sonic templates, breaks new ground and brings forth something greater than the sum of its already impressive parts.
Perhaps the best way of describing Plague God as an album is insidious; though that fails to do justice to some of its more abrasive tendencies, it encapsulates the way in which it digs under the skin. The clattering industrial noise brought forth is both captivating and deeply unsettling and unnerving, like an organic/machine hybrid straining at the boundaries forced on it and the stress it’s under. Opener Rise From Ruins encapsulates this, an undulating note throbbing into being before the tribal drum patterns of Iggor Cavalera add their own foreboding march. All this before the vocals cut through with a guttural howl of “For what it’s worth / Dying from birth, what is my worth?”. Not just philosophical navel-gazing, the song, as does the album, examines life in a world rife with disconnect from both others and our own selves, as well as disinformation that only furthers these divides.
It’s followed by the mammoth In Spirit In Spite, in which the snare rings like disused machinery and the guitars give the impression of machinery teetering on the edge as the tortured howls of Scott Kelly (NEUROSIS) and Colin H. Van Eeckhout (AMENRA) give the machine its voice. Vocally it covers plenty of ground; from those desolate roars to spoken word passages during its disquieting lull midway through. A far cry from the work both vocalists have become known for, certainly, but one that shows them digging deep into themselves for ways to put across the desire to seek out what humanity they can in an age of dehumanisation. Similarly, Sarin features pounding drums and animalistic howls reminiscent of Barney Greenway in a vat of acid, as if striving to distil something more human from itself.
By the time Plague God culminates in the sprawling, almost 17-minute (near half its runtime) finale of The Acres/The Ache and The Half Rising Man, ABSENT IN BODY have done what few industrial bands can; bring humanity and an animalistic urgency to the maddening machinery. The former pounds into being similar to Rise From Ruins before exploding into tectonic riffs and hellish industrialism, whereas the latter closes the album with a slow burning exploration of its musical and lyrical themes. Throbbing synths, glacial drums that hit like battering rams catalyse and it closes with a summation of what ABSENT IN BODY are striving for: “feel free”. Plague God is an all-consuming, mesmerising sonic experience and meditation, one that demands attention and repeat listens to unpack not just its music but also its philosophy and desire to understand – what does it mean to be human?
Rating: 8/10
Plague God is set for release on March 25th via Relapse Records.
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