A complete work.
Foetus has never come to conceive an album so different in sounds and textures. In previous albums like āLoveā and āFlowā, there was a common thread among the songs that composed them (a sort of electronic harp in the first and an industrial jazz mix in the second), the same cannot be said for this one. āHideā is certainly influenced by the (very reductively called) side project Manorexia. With Manorexia, our Foetus conducts elements in a very respectable symphonic orchestra, and it mostly pertains to instrumental music. Right from the first track āCosmeticsā, we understand that our artist is playing with open cards: a lyrical atmosphere rises with multiple voices and then sets off with a sort of noisy destructive charge kept in time by a nervous drum; then some kind of electronic synthesizer takes the reins, the drum goes wild, the piano strikes, and the strings are a multitude of arrows embedded in the listenerās ears. Eight and a half minutes of delirium. āPaper Slippersā is already much calmer, building up to an electric guitar solo, as simple as it is effective. Movement with āStood Upā and the excellent bass line that holds the base along with the bass drum. There's even a reprise of a theme from some space-themed TV show. āHere Comes The Rainā fluctuates with violins, harps, bass drums, and some crazed synthesizer, āOlfieldsā is majestic in its violin atmospheres and supported by a double bass that touches the infrasonic. Sonic experimentation in the track āConcreteā, little bells, crumbled polystyrene, some battered pot, and a sort of siren completes the picture. āThe Ballad of Sisyphus T. Jonesā takes us to the old west, desert rides, crazy ranger trumpets, guitars played directly from the Grand Canyon and precise whip cracks. āFortitude Vittimusā is a sort of callback to the first track, while āYouāre Trying To Break Meā refers to the works of the last two albums, distorted voice, distorted guitar, distorted synthesizers, deadly in its progression, pure industrial in the finale. It closes with āO Putrid Sunā with a dreamlike atmosphere and final hours of the end of the world and the decay of the human race.
Conclusion: it's a pity that Foetus enthusiasts are very few, this āelementā has been and still is capable of offering real gems to the music world by mixing genres and completely staying outside of any scheme. If I were you, I would give it some thought.
Rating: 9