In Dante’s Inferno, the second circle begins the proper punishment of Hell, a place where “no thing gleams.” It is reserved for those overcome with Lust, where carnal appetites hold sway over reason. In Nine Circles, it’s where we do shorter reviews of new(ish) albums that share a common theme.
In today’s edition, we will dive head first into two new albums from bands that hail from the leftfield fringes of metal and push the proverbial envelope through a shredder. Did I mention that the aforementioned envelope you just held in your hands was drenched in a cocktail of psychedelic drugs? Better fasten your seatbelts as we are about to venture into some wild territories, with Four Stroke Baron and Haunted Plasma as our intrepid guides.
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Somehow three years have already passed since avant-alt-prog metal maestros Four Stroke Baron released Classics, an album that actually lived up to the promise of its ballsy title and instantly became a contemporary classic in my books and claimed the #3 spot on my Best of 2021 list. Four Stroke Baron belongs in the exclusive category of bands with such alchemical mastery of pop hooks, gripping melodies and fist-pumping metal genius that they would play to sold-out stadiums in a more just world. On their new album Data Diamond, they amp up the creative abandon and daredevil spirit that was front and center on Classics, and serve it with an extra dollop of catchy strangeness and a fistful of oddly shaped sonic sprinkles.
For unsuspecting first-time listeners, its peculiar combination of arena-grade, sing-along immediacy and leftfield experimentation can be quite disorienting, as one first needs to navigate the glitchy, barking weirdness of “Monday” before reaching the anthemic territory of “The Witch”, a song that only a few people would regard conventional. The spiraling derangement and jackhammer bursts of “People in My Image” is preceded by the bouncy wobble of “Open the World” and key elements of both songs coalesce into “1000 Threads”, bringing a warped sense of cohesion to the album’s unrestrained spirit. But as always, Four Stroke Baron truly excels in writing songs that encapsulate the perfection, excess and feel-good vibes of an endless summer. this time they have surpassed even the earworm excellence of Classics’ “Friday Knight” with the anthemic sublimity of “Cyborg Pt. 3 (Because I’m God)”, an absolute banger that demonstrates Kirk Witt’s mastery of grungy blockbuster riffs and riveting vocal melodies and the intoxicating groove and zesty effervescence of Matt Vallarino’s drumming, and embodies their immaculate songwriting genius and everything that makes their music so lively, memorable and surprising (a prime example of this: when you think the song is over, the duo returns roaring to deliver one hell of a final haymaker). Their music speaks for itself and I can imagine how Witt and Vallarino did not need an unlimited bar tab to convince special guest stars (Cynic’s Paul Masvidal and Vola’s Adam Janzi) to join forces on the album’s sweeping closing track. By this point in their career, there’s no limit as to the inventive creative heights Four Stroke Baron can reach, and I am unequivocally assured that their next step will yet again surprise and impress me with its eccentric excellence.
Data Diamond is available on Prosthetic Records. For more information on Four Stroke Baron, visit their Facebook page.
In Four Stroke Baron’s case, the three years between their latest albums felt like a blink of an eye, whereas the same amount of time between the debut performance of Haunted Plasma at Roadburn Redux 2021 and the release of their first album felt like eternity. Thankfully, the seemingly never-ending wait was worth it, as I is one hell of a trip.
Fathered by heavy-hitters of Finnish psychedelic metal and oddball electronica Juho Vanhanen (Oranssi Pazuzu, Grave Pleasures), Timo Kaukolampi (Op:l Bastards, K-X-P) and Tomi Leppänen (Circle, Aavikko, K-X-P), this starchild of an album blends krautrock, electro, shoegaze and black metal into a spellbinding mixture. Testament to the songwriting chops of the trio, the music keeps shapeshifting and enriching through the course of the album. The slow-burner opener “Reverse Engineer” sets the scene with a pressure cooker of musical expectation that is elevated by the emotive, seductive vocals of Mat McNerney (Grave Pleasures, Beastmilk, Hexvessel, Carpenter Brut). Gears shift with the onset of the steady, vigorous krautrock stomp of “Machines Like Us”, which hypnotizes and energizes in equal measure while maintaining its non-stop neon-hazed momentum. The jangling strings, reptilian vocals and menacing narcotic haze of “Spectral Haze” pushes the listener into darker territory, before trudging through the enveloping oneiric cotton candy of “Echoes”. The trance-inducing closing track demonstrates the power inherent in skillful progression atop a strong foundation of coiling repetition, and almost refuses to conclude. All this is delivered in a way that makes you question whether the thin veil between reality and psychedelic dreamstate really exists anymore. In essence, I is imbued with an almost tangible haziness that distorts senses in the most pleasant of manners.
I is available on Svart Records. For more information on Haunted Plasma, visit their Facebook page.
Those craving something more unusual and unexpected on their metal menu will have a field day with both Data Diamond and I. I can assure that horizons will be broadened and warped. Until next time!
– Zyklonius
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