ALBUM REVIEW: Sixth Mass-Extinction Skulduggery II – Gridfailure
The second of their five-album Sixth Mass-Extinction Skulduggery series is one of GRIDFAILURE’s most expansive and ambitious works. It’s longer than a marathon and as confusing as season two of Westworld, but there’s something within which is deeply endearing.
While much (multi-instrumental performances, composition, recording, mixing) of the album was handled by the man behind GRIDFAILURE, David Brenner, he couldn’t do it all alone. As is tradition in GRIDFAILURE releases, he attracted a diverse cast of contributors, ranging from world-class trumpeter to Mac Gollehon to Cardinal Wyrm guitarist Nathan Verrill. Their manic performances might be hard to decipher amongst the chaos, but it’s good to see such a range of musicians coming together to contribute to such a body of work.
Stoking The Embers does exactly that, leading us towards the experimental sounds of the album delicately. Beats we can latch on to and melodic acoustic guitar lines wander within the dark texture. No Defensive Wounds To Be Found throws the minute moments of accessibility out the window, leaving us with the snarling sounds of what appear to be vocals clashing against a distorted synth line.
Similar vocal styles persist into the next track, but the distorted grunts are this time put against a Cuban beat that wouldn’t feel out of place on a SANTANA track. Moments from Sabotaging Panacea sounds like some of SQUAREPUSHER’s darker work, but Invocate Collapse moves towards the death metal-merging IDM of IGORRR.
The longest track on the album, Proven Finite is a distant, ambient piece. The foreground is full of the crackling sounds of fire and rain, but in the far distance, you can latch onto some unexpectedly beautiful melodies. GRIDFAILURE don’t allow us to hang on to this blissful mid-point for long, however. If Proven Finite is a tiny puppy wandering the garden for the first time, then As Resources Are Depleted, So Are Morals is the floor opening up and whizzing the puppy into mush.
Farmer Suicide gets off to a particularly disturbing start as distorted, anguished screams are layered over industrial beats, while Autophagia Demonstration comes weirdly close to creating something ready for a club dancefloor. A club full of maniacs, yes, but a club, nonetheless. The third in a trio of experimental masterpieces is Wish To Disinvent. Live drums and actual chord progressions bring us towards a sort of slow-motion NAPALM DEATH.
The album rounds off with Irma, which brings back many of the timbres we’ve now become accustomed to: distorted, unintelligible vocals; distant yet calming guitar melodies; field recordings of rain. It’s one of the album’s calmest moments, and a poignant way to round off a work with a surprising amount of meaning.
This isn’t an album that you take to a friend’s house telling them to “listen to this absolute banger”. It isn’t even an album with a high point, or a hit single, or something you wander round the kitchen humming. But it isn’t supposed to be. GRIDFAILURE have created an experience that is supposed to be felt, rather than heard – in that sense, it works perfectly.
Rating: 9/10
Sixth Mass-Extinction Skulduggery II is out now via Nefarious Industries.
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