Reviews: SAT166
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Entheognosis (killer title to match killer art) is a harrowing dervish of seemingly improvised black and death metal dissonance. Clocking in at just a little over an hour across only four tracks, Plasmodium have given us the kind of album that you don’t jam specific tracks from but rather find yourself lost in, searching for the light, for reprieve, for some semblance of reality among the shifting structures and queer light. Strange, atonal chords drift in and out of ethereal (yet oddly tactile) clouds of distortion that seem to spontaneously erupt into lightning cracks of blast beats and queasy hi-hat rides while the vocals speak in maledictions. This is an album that defies convention in many ways, one that must be experienced rather than enjoyed, and yet I find myself looking forward to parsing its intricacies for many months to come.
http://www.toiletovhell.com/mini-reviews-from-around-the-bowl-07212016/
God, where the fuck do I even begin with this thing? Yeah, a thing, I wouldn’t really call this an album. This is more like 60 minutes of a complete deconstruction and reconstruction of extreme metal into pure textural form. This is 60 minutes of me loving the absolute fuck out of guitar feedback wank for the first time in my life. This is just 60 minutes of pure fuck. That’s it, it’s just fuck, I can’t really think of how else to describe it. This psychedelic, noisy, bewildering, oppressive, evil, crushing, zooming, absolutely mind boggling 60 minute fuck-a-thon 3000. This thing, Plasmodium’s Entheognosis, is something I can safely say I have never heard the likes of in my entire reviewing career.
Sure, I’ve heard noise mixed with black metal before. Not much of it, but it’s there. When people think of noise and black metal, they instantly run to Gnaw Their Tongues. They think of edgy, disgusting, ear numbing and raw black metal that sounds like it came straight for the scariest horror film one could think of. Fuck I would say it SOUNDS like a horror film itself. If that’s what you’re expecting here, throw that out the window. This is something much worse than that. Not worse in that it’s got more edgy cover art, or that it’s louder, or that it has more spooky industrial black ambient parts to it. It’s scarier in a different way. There’s something much more terrifying about music that is horrifying without trying to be horrifying. That the band in question isn’t trying to make their music as scary as possible, it’s just that terrifying in it’s natural state. That’s what we have here.
The most complete way in which I could possibly describe Entheognosis is a 60 minute, 4 track album consisting of psychedelic, noisy avant-garde black metal, that often obscures riffs all together for the sake of just shrieking textures on the guitar. That absolutely does not do this music justice, but it’ll have to do for now. It sounds as if Plasmodium took the aspect of raw aggression in extreme metal and broke that down, than reanimated it without paying head to any sort of musical conceptions of what extreme metal is supposed to sound like. So like post-metal, except actually creative. This is post-extreme metal in the most extreme way possible. Sure you’ll hear vague influences from black, death, and doom metal (black metal like vocals, death/thrash drumming, slow, doomy bass guitars), but if you’re focusing on that, you’re missing the point of the music. Instead you get these, fuck not even journeys, just explorations in texture and what it means to have aggression and evil in music. If that sounds massively pretentious, trust me, it isn’t. I would put this on full blast if it was. The album sounds so genuine, which is all the more impressive considering how grand and far out the concept is.
This is an extremely difficult review because I genuinely have no background to go by. I simply haven’t heard anything remotely close to this before, and I’m 99.999% sure whoever is reading this hasn’t either. If this band had a wider audience, this could be a revolutionary work. But you could say that about a lot of bandcamp bands. Albums like this are the best part of being a reviewer. It’s finding spectacular records that nobody else gave a chance. It’s finding that one speck of gold in the entire Colorado River. This has been a shit year for black metal, with none of the popular records blowing me away, and the obscure finds not doing much for me either. I can definitely say that this record is my black metal AOTY so far, which is a major relief to someone who loves the genre so much. Though calling this black metal is like calling a Schoenberg prelude a song. You’re technically right, but completely fucking missing the point. For as weary as the concept of this album can get (the length is a bit much and the ideas don’t always support it anyway), I kept having the thought that maybe the point of this record wasn’t to have structured variety. Maybe this isn’t a record that’s meant to be analyzed like any other album. Maybe I shouldn’t be trying to find faults in every bit that’s made. Perhaps this is simply something that’s meant to be experienced. Something in which you just get lost in the textures and ideas, not trying to figure out if they’ve been repeated. Nah who am I kidding, that would take letting go of what I already know. And even though some blessed bands are able to do that, I’m going to sit here staring in awe, still trying to find a reason to subtract points on an imaginary scoring system like the complete simpleton I am.
https://thelizardinblack.net/2016/07/19/plasmodium-entheognosis/
For today’s review I’ll be discussing Entheognosis by the macabre metal nightmare that is Plasmodium. Recorded and released a couple months ago, the self titled release from this band is an inspired mixture of technical prowess and aesthetic detail that creates a truly immersive and terrifying listening experience. The atmosphere is curiously morbid, in the same way that a band like Portal uses Vaudeville and Edgar Allen Poe in what is a very true metal context to create something horrific, Plasmodium even in the parameters of what (i believe) is just a heavy band format (keys drums guitar bass vox) manage to create a truly unique metal ritual.
A large component of what makes this record impressive is the shroud of mystery it operates in from top to bottom. Whilst some bands are willing to forgo aesthetic to put on the salesmanship hat (its not a bad thing, all bands do it), the release of this album has seemed to be somewhat conscious of that and i’d like to think its for the benefit of the listener so that one could go in, consciously or subconsciously recognising that this is an egoless collective terror, this wasn’t album that was made, it was spawned in ritual to be wreaked up on the earth. Real cool stuff.
And this is all before even discussing the music! At points you will hear sounds that are almost flutelike, that could easily be a harmonic on a guitar, you will hear percussion manipulated with an almost violin bowing feel, but the beauty is whilst this is a standard rock band format, all of these various timbres are a complete mystery, between that and a huge lack in cliché, the conscious aesthetic applied in this record to make it a harrowing macabre listen is so thoughtful and meticulous that it truly could leave you feeling unsettled if you let it. I rarely hear this kind of ultra realistic horror in music outside of noise and power electronics but the fact it has just taken its platform to achieve that is astounding.
One thing that’s really impressive is how records like this set a precedent of expectation upon the listener. If for example you’re the kind of person who is prone to being unable to find a space for artistic concept to exist outside of your usual ideas of interpreting expression, or someone who gets anxious when presented with a story idea that you don’t have all the details for to the point where you put in a proverbial too hard to understand basket, your inability to enjoy this record meaningfully will be your own shit to deal with. Even beyond the realms of its own ritualistic setting, this album is so aesthetically driven to be mysterious and puts the burden back on the listener to elevate themselves to a point of being worthy of the records time.
Overall if you’re someone who finds it hard to connect with metal that escapes the realms of its traditions or redefines it in a way that’s meaningful to them, you may not get anything out of this. But for those able to enjoy the immensely detailed dread that is this record, Enjoy hell.
https://mutinyinheaven.wordpress.com/2016/09/20/plasmodium-entheognosis-2016/
Plasmodium are a band from Australia that plays a psychedelic mixture of black and death metal and this is a review of their 2016 album "Entheognosis" which will be released on December 29th as a joint effort between Satanath Records and Cimmerian Shade Recordings.
Clean playing starts off the album and a few seconds later avant garde sounds are added onto the recording along with some drones and the music also gets very experimental at times and after awhile high pitched black metal screams make their presence known along with some drums and deep death metal growls are also used at times.
All of the tracks are very long and epic in length and blast beats are also added into some parts of the songs and you can also hear all of the musical instruments that are present on the recording and synths are also added into some parts of the music and spoken word parts also are used at times.
A great amount of psychedelic elements can be heard quite a bit throughout the recording and the sounds of human torture can also be heard at times and during the faster sections of the songs a great amount of tremolo picking can be heard which also gives the songs more of a raw black metal feeling and one of the tracks is instrumental along with some parts having an improv style to them.
Plasmodium plays a musical style that take the rawness and heaviness of black and death metal and mixes it with improv, psychedelic, experimental and avant garde elments to create something original, the production has a very powerful sound to them while the concept of the music seems to alchemy themed.
In my opinion Plasmodium are a very great sounding psychedelic mixture of black and death metal and if you are looking for something that is different and can never fit in with the mainstream, you should check out this band. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Limbic Disassociatian" and "Hermaphrodisac".
http://occultblackmetalzine.blogspot.ru/2016/12/plasmodiumentheognosissatanath.html
Black metal psicadélico. Ora aí está algo que não se vê todos os dias. Vindo da Austrália ainda por cima. Tudo motivos para ficarmos altamente fascinados e curiosos com o som de Plasmodium que, é importante salientar, não é, de todo, imediato. Isso não faz com que não seja apreciável. Aliás, até faz com que seja mais. Composto por apenas quatro temas com um primeiro com mais de vinte minutos - o mais pequeno tem dez, o que temos aqui é uma viagem impressionante e densa pelas sonoridades mais negras e ocultas do metal. O único ponto que encontramos negativo é o facto de ter uma produção demasiado podre mas até isso funciona a seu favor. Ajuda a criar um ambiente único. Os Plasmodium podem não ser a banda mais vistosa nem "Entehognosis" o álbum que chegará a todos os fãs de metal nos quatro cantos do mundo, mas sem dúvida que tendo efeito e plantando a semente, dificilmente será apagada a impressão de uma obra densa e negra de música extrema.
http://radiowom.blogspot.ru/2017/03/plasmodium-entheognosis-review.html
Good lord! Plasmodium, the enigmatic Aussie band from Melbourne have put out one screwball of a debut with album Entheognosis. Clocking in at just over 1 hour over 4 tracks of maddened chaotic dissonance this eclectic band have produced one of those rarities any reviewer hopes to stumble on, one that challenges our minds and ears and leaves us rocking back and forth in the corner of a room until the light of transcendence touches our brow.
The band describe themselves as ‘Undulating Psychedelic Darkness’, and this self analysis couldn’t be more apt. The album’s title, from what I gather, is a concoction of the words ‘Entheogen’, meaning a drug that is taken to bring on a spiritual experience and ‘Gnosis’, meaning insight and knowledge. I’m surely not the only one who sees the tripping balls to touch God reference. Perhaps they’re here to indoctrinate the world, or maybe just bring it some bat-shit crazy music. Whatever their reasoning they have rolled the joint of insanity and forged not only a daring and thought-provoking album but one that is truly a gem of a find.
This particular oddity sounds like the massacred nightmare of a meth-possessed madman whose fantasies of sex, drugs and metal mayhem furiously pound into one another as he froths at the mouth to produce one climax-inducing drug wank that’s just as messy and satisfying. The album takes riffing to the next level of pomp and brashness with serious groove and countless textures to explore in each thrilling riff-ride.
Entheognosis is structured deconstruction of the genre. Less organised, more reorganised chaos, peeling back the layers of convention and what you think metal is and should be and then kicking it ass to teeth where it festers on you like a facehugger. It’s the audial equivalent of being stuck inside a pinball machine. 20 minute opener ‘Limbic Disassociation’ is a perfect example of what Plasmodium are all about. Starting with several drawn out minutes of dawdling low and uncomplicated strums, not telling of the maelstrom of free-form metal to clatter our ears further on, the track burns rather slowly until thankfully ignited by the rush of cyber-techy guitars sounding like a Nintendo meltdown and scrambling precise, yet un-precise, blast beats. Midpoint the track blurs its vision and dribbles into a spaced-out odyssey of trippy chants all inducing of bright colours and dancing elephants. These Aussies have their own idea of metal and they stick to this formula throughout the album.
‘Reformoculus’ is a frenetic schizo of a song that plays like a free-form jazz fusion session of cavernous almost inaudible blastbeats and riffage turned up to eleven on the crazy meter. At its heart is one killer of a catchy riff that’ll have you stomping and banging your fists to the beat, and then your forehead when you fail to keep up with it. The track manages to sustain your interest for its ten minute length even without the inclusion of any vocals due to its punchy and furiously upbeat enthusiasm. Last two tracks ‘Hermaphrodisiac’ and ‘Deuteromitosis’ are drawn out slow burners with several assaulting moments of fury throughout, but these two tracks could easily be spliced together to form one beast of a track as they play out in similar fashion, melding into the same formula with no strikingly discernible variations in content, that’s not to their detriment though as what these guys do with feedback and wailing guitars is quite extraordinary.
To fully appreciate, set aside your mind beyond the usual boundaries of your musical comfort zone. It would be easy to bail out and scream “NO” as you frisbee the disc through a window, but embrace the circus and escape the confines of tradition as this band has clearly escaped the realm of normality… and bathes in it with pride.
Their strange mastery allows you to fully immerse yourself in most of its run time and paint your own picture from the elaborate colours provided. Yes, parts are ball-achingly hard to bear as aspects of its avant-garde experimentation take its toll only to bring you back to life with a killer riff or twisted turn of genre. This is clearly a band at ease with lengthy pieces of expression where their visions (and I’m assuming they have many) can be told in far-out detail. By far not an easy listen. Not easy to get into. But easy to finally accept. A genre breaker? In its parts no, but as a whole… maybe. A genre rule-breaker for certain. Do not try to understand, you wont need a dooby for this one, just kick back and fuckin’ enjoy it man!
http://echoesanddust.com/2017/03/plasmodium-entheognosis/
Je vous l’avais dit il y a peu, le Black refuse de se cantonner au simple rôle d’épouvantail du passé planté au milieu d’un champ de désolation musicale pour attirer les corbeaux des ténèbres. C’est un style mouvant, qui refuse les attaches, et qui évolue, au point de se transfigurer, pour parfois perdre ses traits les plus caractéristiques et offrir un visage flou, grotesque, effrayant ou intrigant.
Un nouvel exemple de mutation nous est offert ce matin via les services des Russes de Satanath Records, qui depuis la fin 2016, distribuent le premier album des Australiens de PLASMODIUM.
Je pourrais abuser de métaphores pour décrire cet ensemble, mais le mieux est encore de laisser parler ses membres, qui offrent une description de leur vision très personnelle, et pour le moins absconse. Et en VO je vous prie, pour l’intégrité des propos.
«“PLASMODIUM exists to haunt the thresholds of outer knowledge. By means of our continuing experiments into auditory hallucinations, we have formed a vortex as a Tetrahemihexahedron. From its ghastly blazing eye the sounds of matter and time weep through the untempered schizm. It is by our will and sinew that the corruptive metageometric viral code is granted earthly form »
La traduction vous est libre évidemment, mais une chose se dégage de ce laïus pour le moins hermétique. Il est en mots ce que ce disque est en sons. Libre, complexe, décalé, excentré, et finalement, ouvert à de multiples interprétations.
Pourtant, l’adjonction d’inflexions psychédéliques est devenue chose courante dans les styles extrêmes. On commence à en avoir l’habitude, et des groupes comme PORTAL, GNAW THEIR TONGUES ou KHANATE nous ont déjà entraînés dans les dédales d’un amalgame contre nature entre violence abrasive underground et liberté d’agencement.
Pourtant, les Australiens de PLASMODIUM poussent les choses encore plus loin. A tel point qu’on pourrait les croire venus d’un autre monde, un monde qui ne serait pas régit par des règles musicales établies, par des dogmes de construction de composition agencés et cohérents.
Des quatre pistes de cet initial Entheognosis (Entheus, inspiré par une divinité, Gnosis – la connaissance), aucune ne semble devoir répondre à des critères de logique et d’évolution. Toutes résultent d’une inspiration instantanée, comme une jam infernale destinée à faire émerger des sons provenant d’un état de conscience différent, générant de fait un état altéré de perception. Somme toute, une drogue musicale qui ouvre les portes de votre esprit, et vous permet d’accéder à des niveaux supérieurs de compréhension. Compliqué, bavard, mais il faut bien tenter de percer un peu le mystère de ce Black Metal pas vraiment psychédélique, mais terriblement expérimental, et, osons le terme, « d’avant-garde ».
Le quintette (Fuath – incantations, Demoninacht – limbic chaos, Nocentor – reverberactions, Aretstikapha – conjurations et Yen Pox – warp siphon) n’a pas vraiment cherché la simplicité ni la cohérence, et s’est perdu dans ses propres limbes d’inspiration pour proposer à l’auditeur de faire ses propres choix.
Dès lors, les possibilités sont infinies. Vous pouvez prendre l’album dans son intégralité, en piocher des éléments, les réassembler, ou tout rejeter d’un bloc.
Ce qui serait évidemment dommage.
Le tout justement, peut paraître foutoir, bordel à peine organisé autour de quelques idées motrices. D’ailleurs, dès le premier morceau, « Limbic Disassociation », les dés sont jetés. Enormes riffs Sludge, lourdeur suffocante, accélérations sur tapis de blasts et chant arraché aux enfers personnels, breaks imprévisibles, extensions au-delà du raisonnable, feedback, dissonances, le tout vous conduit sur la piste d’un ad-lib lysergique dont on ne revient pas indemne, et qui laisse des séquelles psychologiques assez marquées. Une sorte de jam sans limitation d’imagination, délire bruitiste qui renvoie GNAW THEIR TONGUES et ABRUPTUM dans leur caveau figé pour mieux exploser les conventions de l’insupportable, de l’insoutenable. Et pourtant, on tient le coup, parce que quelque part, tout ceci est fascinant, et parce qu’on aimerait bien ressentir, à défaut de comprendre.
A compter qu’il y ait quelque chose à comprendre…
« Reformoculus » ose le trop plein de violence évacué à grands coups de rythmiques BM impitoyables, mais n’hésite pas non plus à y incorporer des éléments de Drone, de Progressif occulte et à secouer le tout de stridences abusives pour en accentuer la patine abrasive.
On pense à un mélange de rigidité Allemande héritée du Krautrock, d’abstraction avant-gardiste de la No-Wave poussée à son paroxysme, le tout plongé dans un grand bain d’acide Death scandinave underground des années 90.
En fait, un point de convergence déstabilisant entre l’art de perdition spatial des HAWKWIND, la déconstruction bruitiste de GNAW THEIR TONGUES, et un traitement austral très personnel de la douleur auditive sans concessions.
Un genre de voyage astral au plus profond de sa propre douleur, pour tenter d’en extraire l’essence de vie. Inextricable ?
Sans doute, et c’est tant mieux.
Et si « Hermaphrodisiac » semble se contenter d’un Drone bouillant et grouillant sur ses premières minutes, sa structure une fois de plus cède sous les coups de boutoir d’un BM malfaisant et cauchemardesque. Longs intermèdes silencieux striés de lacérations de basse et de guitares à l’agonie, rythmique en totale liberté de frappe, et chant qui s’appréhende comme une couche d’arrangements supplémentaires.
En conclusion, « Deuteromitosis », ne dévie pas de la liberté brutale, et se contente de proposer une porte de sortie fermée à clé pour mieux vous enfermer à jamais dans un monde terriblement effrayant, désoxygéné, vous poussant à faire appel à vos sens les plus primaux pour éviter une asphyxie totale…
A proprement parler, Entheognosis n’est pas un « album ». C’est une suite de sons plus ou moins organisés, un médium d’expression sans retenue, qui utilise les codes du BM, du Death, de l’avant-garde Noisy, du progressif occulte, pour tenter de poser sa philosophie sans imposer un cadre trop strict.
Chaque sensibilité étant unique, il est évident que la plupart d’entre vous rejetteront cet effort dans son ensemble, tandis que d’autres y verront un voyage étrange, chaotique, mais terriblement expressif. Une autre somme de connaissances, libre de droits.
Ou juste cinq musiciens pas comme les autres, qui manient leurs instruments comme Janov manipulait les cris puériles de ses patients en quête de catharsis.
http://www.metalnews.fr/chroniques/entheognosis
Sürgősen felejtsenek el mindent, amit eddig úgy nagyjából felépítettek magukban arra vonatkozóan, hogy mi is az a zenei szerkezet vagy hangzattan. Az ausztrál brigád ugyanis lerombol mindent ezzel kapcsolatban. Psychedelic black metalként listázzák önmagukat, és ha ragaszkodnak hozzá, tőlem megkapják ezt a pecsétet. Megszokhattuk már, hogy mostanában Ausztráliából hiperdurva zenék érkeznek, így a figyelmesek már időben felvehetik a kellő védőfelszerelést a play gomb lenyomásáig.
Amúgy magáról a bandáról szinte semmit nem lehet kideríteni, és ez már nem az első ilyen a Satanath korongok közül. Pár szót a névről... A Plasmodium élősködők egyike a malária kórokozója. Erről a betegségről tudvalevő, hogy az Anopheles szúnyog terjeszti, és lázrohamokkal járó állapotokkal operál, a teljes gyógyulás pedig nem valószínű, mivel a májból szinte lehetetlen az egysejtűt kiűzni. Hosszú tünetmentes időszakok (évek) után újabb lázrohamokra számíthat, aki egyszer belekóstolt...
Az egyik tény a lemez körül, hogy debütalbum, legalább is a Metal Archives szerint. A Facebook oldaluk 2015-ben jött létre, és most éppen seeking of label... Képek a csapatról... ugyan már!!!
Sztori, és elemzés...
Pár napja szép napsütés volt, így nyakamba vettem az erdőt a városhatárban, és tettem egy jó órás sétát a lejátszóval. A kiadvány egy kicsivel több, mint egy órás, és mire hazaértem kirombolódott az agyam a helyéről. Olyan voltam, mint akit megrágtak, majd kiköptek.
Ennél a zenénél alig léteznek klasszikus értelembe vett zenei harmóniák. Nem lepődnék meg, ha az egész egy nagy improvizáció lenne. A dob az egyetlen, ami ténylegesen klasszikus hangszeres felfogásban alkot. A totális káosz alól az időnként felvillanó néhány akkordfoszlány oldoz fel, de erre időnként perceket kell várni.
Pszichedelikusnak tulajdonképpen csak az effektelt ambientes részek miatt érzem az Entheognosist, de ott nagyon. Hasonló dolgai a Dødsengelnek volt azt Imperator lemezen, de az ehhez képest egy slágergyűjtemény. No nem, de majdnem. Mivel eszem ágában sincs tételekre bontani ezt a művészetet, inkább hasonló bandákat próbálok említeni, hogy a vakmerő hallgató fel legyen csigázva... Nem mintha nagyon populáris hatásokat sorolhatnék fel beetetés gyanánt. A francia Silcharde De Martyrs a Bourreaux című, öt évvel ezelőtt általan kritizált dark ambient lemezén is feltűnnek hasonló elemek... De mondhatnám a Pink Floydtól az A Saucerful of Secrets című lehengerlő dalt is, annyi különbséggel, hogy a Plasmodiumnál elmarad a feloldás... De a káosz rész tényleg hasonló. A Hermaphrodisiac című szerzemény kezdőhangjai között hallok egy ahhoz hasonlót, amit az oldschool, több mint húsz éves számítógépes játék az Ufo - Enemy Unknown zenéjében is hallani. Pazar.
Tulajdonképpen free jazz is ez a zene, csak durva hangzással és duplázóval. Azért nem kap maximumot, mert a Reformoculusban feltűnő női élvezkedést egy kicsit ócsónak érzem, és az az körüli zenei dolgok egy kicsit megfulladnak önmagukban. Előtte és utána nagyszerűen vannak viszont adagolva a durvulat és az elszállós részek.
Nemrég A Nagy Metal Portálon jártam, ahol kifejtették, hogy a Fémforgácson hallgathatatlan zenék vannak a fókuszban, hát, aki ebbe a műbe belehallgat - vagy urambocsá VÉGIGHALLGATJA - az egyenesen azt fogja mondani, hogy nekünk elment az eszünk.
Az enyém biztos...
De nem tehetek róla, ez nekem tetszik.
http://femforgacs.hu/kritika/3837/Plasmodium_Entheognosis_2016
The early months of a new year are an opportunity not only to discover new music from that year, but to go back to the previous year and unearth albums you overlooked as well. Most of what you find are typically average to mediocre releases, but every now and then, through digging, you find a few gems. Gems like Plasmodium.
"Undulating psychedelic darkness." That's how the Australians in Plasmodium describe their sound on their Bandcamp page, and it's a label not to be taken lightly. What we have here on their Entheognosis debut is an imposing, colossal maelstrom of death metal, black metal, and psychedelia. Fans of the more "swirling vortex" brands of any of those three genres will be right at home with this one, as frantic, chaotic riffs surge forth from beyond the event horizon, boosted up by an absolutely delicious, trippy atmosphere of crisp bass, whooshing keyboard effects, and meditative, chant-like vocals. If you're not already in awe by the time you finish the massive opener that is "Limbic Disassociation," you may need to have your ears examined.
Entheognosis is, boiling down to it, a lesson in sonic experimentation, and as such, the music twists and turns through its three primary influences in bold, often unexpected ways. Sometimes you'll be getting lost in Plasmodium's more spacious, relaxing elements, as on "Deuteromitosis," and then BOOM!, that crazy black metal riffage and those nasty blast beats will start creeping up from the shadows, eventually exploding in a violent, albeit highly unusual barrage. For some, this blend of sounds and the transitions from one to the next may feel a bit messy, but part of what makes Plasmodium such a fun listen is that there's a feeling with them that the music is always about to go over the brink but doesn't, a "controlled chaos" type vibe of it threatening to go off the tracks but nonetheless never ceasing to be guided by some powerful, invisible hand.
The highly idiosyncratic nature of Plasmodium's music makes them extremely difficult to compare to their contemporaries. You could probably draw a good connection between them and the Frenchies in Chaos Echœs, but even this isn't entirely fair, as something about the music on Entheognosis truly does have a distinct tinge all its own. It seriously must be stressed that this album is a real epitome of the "fuck the rules" principle, one that charges into the unknown headfirst and simply refuses to look back from there. Those who enjoy extreme metal that pushes the envelope simply must give this a listen, as Plasmodium don't just push it, they tear right through it and laugh as it burns.
Sounds enticing? You know where to go.
http://www.metalstorm.net/pub/review.php?review_id=14150
Desde Australia nos llega un nuevo combo de Psychedelic Noise Black Death Metal llamados PLASMODIUM. Iniciaron su carrera en 2015. Un año más tarde, y después de haber editado primero su L.P “Entheognosis” de manera independiente colgándolo en su Bandcamp, fueron fichados por Cimmerian Shides Recordings, que junto con la colaboración de Satanath Records acabaron publicándolo en formato físico el 29 de diciembre de 2016. Obviamente este redondo es el culpable de que existan estas esquelas.
Lo que nos plantea este conjunto es un trabajo realmente complicado y muy poco ortodoxo, que nos sumerge en las profundidades más viscerales, violentas y demenciales de la mente humana. Las estructuraciones de las tonadas son lacerantes y frescas a más no poder, pero pueden llegar a pecar de exceso de caos en las guitarras. Al final el metalhead para encontrarle la melodía tendrá que afinar el oído y prestar atención en las líneas de bajo y a los ritmos de batería, ya que con las seis cuerdas no sabrá que está sucediendo. A pesar de todo ello, estamos ante un trabajo y unas composiciones únicas que brillan por su total originalidad.
Los riffs son una loca maraña amorfa de punzantes notas, donde en ocasiones parece a simple vista que no siguen ningún patrón. Los encontramos atonales y profundamente perturbadores. Estos chavales tuvieron que crear todo esto en un manicomio sí o sí.
Las voces suenan agónicas y violentas. Los registros que hallamos no pueden ser más inquietantes hermanos.
La batería te reventará el cráneo con up y mid tempos. Por supuesto no faltan los blast beats ejecutados a la velocidad de la luz. Como decía un poco más arriba, este instrumento junto con el bajo se puede decir que es lo más convencional de todo, si es que ese adjetivo se puede utilizar con esta banda.
No destaco ninguna canción de las cuatro que forman este plástico, ya que parecen estar formando parte de un todo indivisible.
Da la sensación de ser una gran pista de más de una hora de duración.
Compañeros no se si estamos ante una obra maestra adelantada a su tiempo o ante un absurdo amasijo sonoro, así que su valoración es realmente ardua. Solo os puedo decir que bien vale la pena darle la oportunidad que merece. Eso sí, advierto que lo más cerrados de mente saldrán espantados cuando empiece a sonar este plástico.
http://necromance.eu/plasmodium-aus-entheognosis-cd-2016-cimmerian-shade-recordings/
have many conflicting thoughts and feelings about this debut album from Melbourne’s Plasmodium, which, to be honest, already makes it stand tall over the sea of releases which don’t really inspire either. But writing it all down is no easy task. There are aspects that I love, aspects that make me intensely uncomfortable, and aspects that I can’t help but find really very silly. Much like the music itself, my responses to this release were chaotic, extreme, and conflicting, so a simple review of Entheognosis is just not possible. Instead, here is a complicated one.
Plasmodium are intense. They’re brash, bold, and uncompromisingly unique, not to mention disorientingly chaotic in ways that other black metal bands can only dream of being. The guitars rise and fall with chorus-quivering hookless abandon, rather than playing with traditional metal elements like riffs, solos, or rhythms (although there are definitely times where the repeated notes could easily actually be a riff after all—see the track ‘Reformoculus’). The keys create atonal vibrational baths of sound, rather than melodies or orchestrations, adding atmosphere and tension instead of lushness or pomp. The vocals (a consonantly mashing vomitory snarl) gnash and roar paradoxical quasi-meaningless chemistry-meets-tantra gibberish at seemingly random intervals. The drums pound and thrash, propelling the whole thing along up mountains and into chasms. The bass finds a place between everything else and sort of sits there, perfect and grounding, leading and following in equal measure. The whole release sounds completely improvised, but every instrument does its thing exactly as it should, without any one ego overriding anything and without any particular sound attempting to become the star of the show. If it’s like anything else, and it’s really not, imagine an improvised Portal or free-jazz version of Stargazer, or some ice-addicted cousin to Khanate. But honestly, it’s really not like any of them at all. It’s not much like anyone.
There’s this intensity to be heard—this aggressive free-for-all sharknado of left-field blackened mania. It’s a feeling of literal madness so intense that it’s almost clinically certifiable—which, of course, I loved. But then there’s these long sections where this violent intensity is layered with female sex noises, cries, moans, gasps, and shrieks, which I found making me unusually uncomfortable. Let me remind you, the music behind these groans and yelps is the very antithesis to the soundtrack for sexytimes. The combination of brutality and fornication couldn’t help but bring to mind the ugly culture of sexual violence, which made it very hard to enjoy. Yet, at the exact same time, I was forced to confront the fact that this was my own subjective conclusion, and that the band were not implicitly or explicitly endorsing sexual violence, or even actually referencing it at all: The connection was entirely in my own head. I then spent a lot of time wondering what the band’s motivations actually were: Was it pure immature titillation, a documentation of a band member’s own actual tantric practises, deliberate provocation for the purposes of discomfort, to highlight the similarities between the penetration and pounding of sex and violence, or was it just a completely unthought case of, ‘Hey, that would sound cool’? Of course, all my pondering came up with nought, and I found that, not only did Plasmodium confuse me with their music, but forced me along confusing mental pathways as well. That’s right: This was abstract metal that got me to actually think.
Lastly, and perhaps accidentally, Entheognosis had me cracking up. As well as the dark insanity of the music, and the ambiguous incorporation of heightened sexual field recordings, the album provides the kind of ludicrous lyrics that turn the whole thing from really quite disturbing to laugh-out-loud piss funny. It’s almost impossible to say something like ‘Hermaphrodite avians flock to the shores, inoculating each other’s cloaca’ with a straight face, let alone while throwing the metal claw. On the same continuum as Portal or Impetuous Ritual’s lyrical tomfoolery, Plasmodium feels like it’s trying to be so very serious, but comes across extremely silly. It’s like poetry randomly generated by feeding a bunch of neurochemical texts, some H. P. Lovecraft, and a book on sexual yoga into an artificial intelligence network: It’s a mixture of completely nonsensical, highly technical words that I have to constantly stop the music to look up the definition of, and ever-so-spooky imagery of aliens, fungi, skeletons, robot wasps, and inoculated cloacas. I understand that mystery can generate feelings of confusion, and confusion can generate feelings of fear, but to be honest, the lyrics here frightened and confused me about as much as Monty Python (the point being, surrealism/weirdness is just as likely to be funny as scary). I mean, try this one on for size: ‘Stable vestibulocular reflex, chiasma interprets the penteract / circulatory connections into the manifold orthoplex.’ See what I mean? Or what about, ‘All forms pulsate simultaneous besight of respilous naja insept’? Not only was it irritating having to constantly run off to find out what the words mean (and I still haven’t managed to find out what ‘respilous’ means—even Google has no idea), but the very fact that the writer of said words felt the need to use obfuscatory vocables rather than simple plain English made me feel like they were trying to hide their lack of anything important to say behind big fancy words, much like some anxious academic might express the most obvious of ideas behind an impenetrable wall of jargonese (I’m not suggesting that the author of these lyrics was actually attempting to do this, mind you—just that it could easily seem that way). Note to Plasmodium: next release, hide the lyrics.
So, what do I think of Entheognosis? It’s great. It’s overwhelming, it’s all over the place, and it’s extremely confusing in almost every way. Like the act of entheognosis itself (which means something like ‘knowing the divine within‘), it’s full of twists and turns, dead ends, and traps for the unwary, and the (albeit annoying/funny) lyrics are rich with references to both psychoactive substances and tantric sex acts, both of which are renowned for their entheogenic properties. Even the fact that I found myself laughing at the dubious thesaurus-poetry of the lyrics made me actually enjoy the album in a different way than what I was expecting, and who knows—that laughter could very well have been intentional as well. After all, the perilous Chapel of the Entheogene has always been filled with as much mirth as fear.
https://heathenharvest.org/2017/02/04/kaleidoscopic-confusion-plasmodium-entheognosis/
Somente pela quantidade de músicas e duração do material (4 faixas em pouco mais de 60 minutos) percebemos que o Plasmodium é uma banda interessada em subverter padrões e desconstruir paradigmas.
"Entheognosis", o trabalho em questão, apesar de sua indiscutível qualidade técnica e sonora, acaba se tornando cansativo na sua tentativa de inovação dentro de um segmento que pouco se permite inovar. Ao aventurar-se em águas tempestuosas, o Plasmodium assumiu o risco.
Sua mistura de Death Metal, Progressivo, Noise e Ambient, em alguns momentos, é de difícil digestão. É um som potencialmente pesado, agressivo, mas repleto de variações de andamentos, microfonias perturbadoras e inserções inusitadas de diferentes estruturas sonoras, que deixa o ouvinte por vezes desorientado.
Após algumas audições, "Entheognosis" torna-se mais aceitável, ainda que um tanto intrincado em seu aparente vanguardismo sonoro. Os vocais são esparsos, sem muita variação, dando lugar a guitarras robustas, grooveadas, e uma cozinha quase "jazzística", que explora diferentes texturas a cada momento, principalmente no belo trabalho de bateria.
Se você, leitor amigo, é chegado numa ousadia, talvez "Entheognosis" lhe apeteça. Destaque para "Deuteromitosis", a mais "trivial" de todas. Ouça e tire suas próprias conclusões.
There’s something about truly dark and disturbing metal that connects with me in a deep way, as it also does for an assortment of other odd individuals too. Trying to understand the reason for that is the more difficult part, but overall, I think it has something to do with finding some odd sense of peace in hearing sounds that reflect the bleakness and harshness of the world all around us.
Forming a cathartic energy which we can lose ourselves in, that’s exactly what the otherworldly music from Melbourne, Australia-based Plasmodium has to offer.
Their debut album, Entheognosis, dropped very recently, on December 29th, through Cimmerian Shade Recordings, but I suspect I’m not alone in missing out on it initially given its very late 2016 release.
Plasmodium play a very strange form of black/death, sort of like a more black-metal and less death-metal-focused Portal, married to an aesthetic that sounds almost like Ævangelist and Imperial Triumphant to me, rounded out by sparse doom-influenced elements, and loaded with strange psychedelic droning passages on every song.
Speaking of the “songs”, the opener, “Limbic Disassociation”, clocks in at a massive 21-minute run time, and the following three songs range between 10 and 15 minutes a piece. Like last year’s fantastic album from VIII, Plasmodium have the talent and know-how to create dense music that plays out in long form without ever losing the listener’s attention.
With each towering song, the band invite you into a world all their own, a hellish sonic adventure into the abyss, yet somehow it’s quite a fascinating journey in spite of, or maybe because of, how truly deranged and alien the music sounds.
Ten album na tle pozostałych wyróżnia się na pewno okładką. Byłem ciekaw co się pod nią skrywa. Australijski Plasmodium prezentuje nam psychodeliczne podejście do tematu black metalu, które zostało tutaj zawarte w czterech długaśnych utworach. Napięcie budowane jest zazwyczaj dość długo, rośnie i za chwilę znów spada by sprawić, że poczujemy się niepewnie i nieswojo. To bardzo niespokojna i nieprzewidywalna płyta. Plasmodium bardzo chcę żeby atmosfera zrobiła się nieprzyjemna i często doskonale udaje się to osiągnąć. Zdecydowanie nie jest to rzecz łatwa, ale gdybym miał wskazać z tych czterech wydawnictw jedno, które podeszło mi najbardziej byłoby to „Entheognosis”.
http://limiter.com.pl/symbol-of-domination-productionsatanath-records-cz-2-2016/
Necesitaba imperiosamente escuchar algo así, algo como Plasmodium. Mi mente, mi cuerpo, mi ser lo pedía. Necesitaba hundirme en el fango de la locura, de la experimentación, del extremismo menos convencional. Necesitaba escuchar algo que me saque de mi fobia a la gente que me rodea, y que me empuje a ensimismarme más aun.
Pero ¿qué es esto llamado Plasmodium? Primero que nada, cabe acotar que se trata de un grupo de Melbourne, Australia, del cual poseo poca información respecto a las verdaderas identidades de sus miembros. Solamente sé sus seudónimos (Fuath, Demoninacht, Nocentor, Yen Pox y Aretstikapha), y que cada uno hace referencia a su rol en el grupo de la manera menos clara posible, y lo más místico posible, también. "Entheognosis" es el debut de la banda, y es, a todas luces, un disco difícil de clasificar. Difícil de clasificar y de asimilar. Bueno, no lo es para mí, pues me resulta fácil asimilar algo tan demencial, algo tan inquietante como el primer disco del quinteto de Australia. Ya saben, amo escuchar psicodelia, Noise, y los sectores menos tradicionales del Black Metal, o del Metal Extremo en general. Y Plasmodium es todo eso junto.
Cero apego a fórmulas que puedan asemejarse a lo que conocemos como canción. Un salvajismo que parecieran no querer controlar, mostrando así un carácter indómito que termina siendo parte esencial del estilo de la banda. Ruidos nacidos bajo una forma, pero que terminan mutando hasta convertirse en algo similar a lo que fueron en un comienzo, pero que distan de ser exactamente lo mismo que fueron cuando nacieron. No hay estructuras, prácticamente no las hay. Flotan, reptan, caen, se elevan, se golpean, te golpean...pero en ningún momento te dan una pista firme que te permita saber hacia dónde van a ir.
Busquen un riff, y díganme si lo encuentran. He allí uno de los aspectos que más amo de éste disco: la esencia del Rock y derivados, es decir, el riff, no existe. Son simplemente sonidos cósmicos que penetran en la mente del guitarrista en cuestión, y que éste, convertido en vehículo, les da vida, los reproduce, mientras éstos se apoderan de la febril mente del intéprete.
Básicamente, todo lo anteriormente dicho es aplicable a todo lo que sucede en el disco, el cual dura un poco más de una hora, en la cual el oyente no tiene de dónde agarrarse para sostenerse en pie. Lo impredecible reina aquí, y eso ayuda a que no haya una etiqueta definitiva para esta banda, para éste disco. Dicen que hacen Psychedelic Black Metal, pero otros prefieren llamarlo Abstract Black/Death, mientras otros eligen la etiqueta Atmospheric Black Metal, como así también hay quienes hablan de Avantgarde. No le hagan caso a nada de lo que les digan. Ni siquiera me hagan caso a mí. Escuchen "Entheognosis", háganlo sin prejuicios, con la mente abierta, dispuestos a alterar los estados normales de la conciencia usando la música como si fuera un ácido. Saquen sus propias conclusiones, elucubren, divaguen, hagan lo que quieran mientras lo escuchan. Pero, por favor, no ignoren lo hecho por Plasmodium en su debut discográfico.
https://puroruido.blogspot.ru/2017/04/plasmodium-entheognosis.html
Bentrovati cari lettori: questa volta risulta molto difficile trovare le parole per descrivere la band che analizzeremo oggi. I Plamodium vengono da Melbourne, Australia, e sono nati nel 2016: la loro proposta si basa su un Black/Death psichedelico. “Entheognosis”, corredato da un artwork molto particolare su sfondo bianco, è il primo lavoro della band ed è stato pubblicato da Satanath Records e Cimmerian Shade Recordings il 29 Dicembre 2016. Anche della lineup sappiamo ben poco: sono infatti conosciuti i nomi dei musicisti ma non i loro strumenti: Fuath, Demoninacht, Nocentor, Aretstikapha e Yen Pox.
Ma passiamo quindi alla musica ed iniziamo con l’opener “Limbic Disassociation”: siamo subito accolti da note sommesse di un basso. Solo dopo un minuto si inizia a sentire qualcosa di ulteriore in sottofondo: si tratta di suoni strani, non meglio identificabili oltre al piatto della batteria. Dopo quasi tre minuti di ambient/noise inizia il cantato in scream, che si sovrappone ad un vero e proprio mucchio di suoni. Non è affatto facile trovare un filo logico a quanto ci viene proposto in questo brano, il quale migliora un po’ solamente nella seconda parte. Questo pezzo posiamo definirlo come "22 minuti per stomaci forti". Il secondo brano è “Reformoculus”, dall’inizio decisamente più metal e comprensibile, con violente schitarrate Death che si fondono all’atmosfera oscura del Black. Anche in questo brano si odono suoni particolari, come una specie di sirena di cui non si capisce se si tratta di un effetto elettronico o di un giochetto vocale mescolato ad altri suoni elettronici, in totale disarmonia con il resto. Prima del quarto minuto abbiamo un forte rallentamento, che in alcuni secondi ci riporta a melodie arabeggianti. Le chitarre sono sempre distortissime e il basso non sempre risulta percepibile, mentre il batterista sembra essere l'elemento della band che ama sbizzarrirsi di più, creando bellissimi effetti con i piatti. Degna di nota è la campionatura di un amplesso, che possiamo sentire nella seconda metà del brano e che risulta essere l’unica “parte vocale” della canzone. Il finale ritorna un po’ sulle sonorità del primo brano, in stile ambient. “Hermaphrodisiac” sembra riportarci di nuovo in un ambiente ambient/noise, dove inizialmente l’unica parte musicale ben definita risulta essere quella della batteria. Quasi ai 3 minuti comincia la parte metal effettiva e il cantato torna in scena, con un growl però non troppo convincente. Le chitarre creano effetti davvero singolari, come se fossero suonate con un archetto da violino, lasciando nuovamente alla sezione ritmica la parte di certezza nell’ascoltatore. Dopo i 5 minuti e mezzo arriva una vera sfuriata Death a risvegliare l’ambiente, prima di catapultarci in piena atmosfera Black. Questa alternanza la ritroviamo fino alla fine del 16 minuti del brano, forse davvero troppi. Chiudiamo il disco con “Deuteromitosis”, che ci accoglie con sonorità tetre tali da poter essere adatte come colonna sonora di uno dei momenti di maggior tensione di un film horror. La lentezza regna sovrana fino a poco prima dei 2 minuti, quando la batteria inizia a sfogare il suo ritmo e il chitarrista si cimenta in schitarrate distorte. Il cantato, quando appare, si concentra su pochi lamenti indistinti, prima di articolare le parole del testo. Fortunatamente col proseguire della canzone riusciamo a trovare qualche momento abbastanza gradevole, ma la lunghezza del brano li fa sembrare una goccia d’acqua nel mare.
Qui a Steel on Fire abbiamo già avuto a che fare con album di questo genere, alcuni dei quali sono risultati degli ottimi lavori… cosa che non possiamo dire di questo “Entheognosis”, che purtroppo porta la noia al primo posto tra i sentimenti che fa scaturire. Solamente la seconda traccia, la più breve, risulta essere godibile per la maggior parte della sua durata, mentre gli altri tre risuonano confusionari e noiosi. Ci auguriamo che la band possa migliorare con i suoi futuri lavori.
http://steelonfire.it/menu/internationalband/plasmodium.html
"Plasmodium" su australijski psihodelični black/death metal bend. Njihovo prvo izdanje, "Entheognosis" sadrži 4 numere koje ukupno traju 62 minuta. Ovo je bilo teško slušati, zaista. Ne znam kako bi njihov nastup izgledao i da li je uopšte moguće održati ga, ali sam siguran da bi na polovini prve pesme prisutna masa bila potpuno sluđena i manijakalna, te bi sve vodilo nekom krvoproliću. I jedno preslušavanje ovog albuma mesečno je previše! No, to ne znači da na njemu nema zanimljivih momenata. U suštini, potrebno je umeće i nesputano-uvrnuti um za stvaranje ovakvog dela.
http://ciklonizacija.blogspot.ru/2017/04/sa-druge-strane-globusa-3.html
Een anoniem Australisch schepsel wordt ons via het Russische Satanath Records aangereikt, met de belofte van verpulverende blackdeath-psychedelica die je zielloos achterlaat na een trip vol verrassingen. Plasmodium is een eencellige, een infectie met dit geslacht staat bekend als malaria. Entheognosis, dat woord begrijp ik niet helemaal, maar het dat is ook het geval met de muziek.
Vier nummers staan er op deze plaat. Van het begin word je meegenomen in wazige soundscapes die zich dreunend en wiegend een weg banen naar nerveuze sludge/black/noise. Minutenlang wordt de spanningsboog opgedreven en wordt de waanzin groter en groter. Het klinkt als een bad trip spin-off van een Mayhem-nummer dat een eigen leven gaan leiden is in de kelder van James Plotkin. De willekeur, de rommeligheid en de organische sound staat in schril contrast tot de onaardse, alienachtige sfeer en synths en het is dikwijls te moeilijk om een vorm van structuur te zoeken in de nummers. De realiteit vervormt wanneer je hier actief naar zit te luisteren en de blastbeatstormen laten je helemaal murw achter. Volgens mij heeft de man die hier achter zit totaal geen gevoel voor melodie, ritme… van muzikaliteit eigenlijk. Het neemt niet weg dat dit vrij ingenieus in elkaar zit en overtuigend ziekelijk is. Al raad ik dit experimentele schepsel in feite aan niemand aan om uit te proberen. En net dat zal voor enkelingen het teken zijn om het wel te doen.
http://zwaremetalen.com/albumrecensies/plasmodium-entheognosis
La sensazione di essere di fronte a qualcosa di grosso è bruciante, la si avverte praticamente da subito, a partire dalla confezione passando per la presentazione dell’artwork, le sembianze della tracklist e una descrizione promozionale che ogni tanto riesce ancora ad aggiungere quel pizzico di pepe in più allo start.
Gli australiani Plasmodium danno il via alla propria carriera con Entheognosis, un disco di spessore inaudito, pronto a fregarsene altamente di forme e strutture ordinarie a favore di percorsi tortuosi, freddi e ricercatamente informi, un rituale sonoro che ci spinge a superare i classici limiti e il superamento abitudinario della barriera del convenzionale.
Si fluttua storditi nella dimensione magica preparata dai Plasmodium, non si può far altro in effetti se non ricevere continue ondate d’urto psicologico dalle forme e dagli effetti sempre diversi. Il rischio di perdersi -non lo nascondiamo- è parecchio elevato, questo rende Entheognosis un lavoro riservato esclusivamente agli audaci, quelli che non temono l’esplorazione dei propri limiti e una continua ricerca di quei momenti d’accecante bellezza e dei suoi significati nascosti/opposti e mai così banali o scontati.
Quattro le canzoni, quattro operazioni o meglio esplorazioni sulle nostre reazioni a suoni, profondità, blasfemie e orridità varie. Limbic Disassociation apre la partita dall’alto dei suoi ventuno “insensati” minuti, uno scoglio necessario per sopravvivere al resto dell’album che in qualche modo ci lascia in discesa a camminare sulle nostre gambe, in estasi, totalmente imbambolati dentro suoni e trame a effetto, così spinose da diventare portentoso e sadico piacere. Mostruosa la prestazione vocale che sembra voler divorare dimensioni e immagini, tutto e tutti, adattata dentro una produzione giustamente asettica e claustrofobica quel tanto che basta.
Si va fuori dall’ordinario per entrare dentro una sorta di “mistica e brutale psichedelia” che prende certamente spunto dalle acide formule dei lavori di Deathspell Omega, Portal e Mitochondrion. Un mischiare le carte che non ha effettivamente nulla di casuale (potremo definirlo a suo modo un prodotto “circolare”) e non c’è forse miglior descrizione per far comprendere alla buona ciò a cui andremo incontro.
Il lasciarsi andare è d’obbligo con Entheognosis.
http://www.disfactory.it/recensione-plasmodium-entheognosis/
This is certainly the most fucked up release I’ve heard on the label so far. Hailing from Melbourne, Plasmodium are like nothing I’ve heard before. it’s like freeform Black/Death Metal that fires off on a tangent whenever it seems fit.
And opening with a 21 minute plus number that defies any blueprint ever created, certainly fucked with my head.
How do I really describe this? Chaos is the only word that’ll do this justice.
The drumming is amazing. It’s like being run over by a juggernaut, which then comes back to make sure you’re finished off… and the rest of the tuneage? It’s little bit like my favourite Cornish nutters, Wisdom Without Worship. Except that this is even more extreme, and infinitely more off the wall.
It’s as mad as it gets… but I like it. Don’t ask me why. I’m just sitting here thinking that these guys must of taken a shitload of drugs before making this… and did they make it up as they went along, or did they actually sit down and write this maelstrom of ungodly delights?
https://beneaththesurfacemagazine.com/2017/03/24/five-for-friday-ii/
Cimmerian Shade always finds the most brutally ugly bands. Pair that with the fundamental viciousness currently found in the Australian extreme scene, and you have something worth listening…if you want to bring your worst nightmares to the surface.
http://www.moshpitnation.com/rage-frustration-round-june-12-2017/
Mi è venuta la sciagurata idea di andare a correre con quest'album nelle orecchie. Non l'avessi mai fatto. Ho avuto visioni di morte per avvelenamento lungo tutti i chilometri percorsi. Ed era un radioso pomeriggio di maggio. Ogni cosa mi sembrava minacciosa e potenzialmente letale. Evidentemente non solo dai solchi del cd, ma anche dai byte degli mp3 provengono effluvi velenosi. D'altronde Plasmodium non ha a che vedere con biscotti per bambini, si tratta della spora che trasmette la malaria. È simpatico che stavolta provenga dall'Australia: ma come? Avete quel programma tv chiamato Airport Security per non far entrare roba sospetta nello Stato e poi intossicate il mondo con 'Entheognosis'? Ben fatto! In realtà mi aspettavo che i quattro brani fossero una formalità come i Temple of Nihil (recensiti altrove). Col piffero: iquello più accessibile ("Reformoculus") dura dieci minuti. Sono serio, è davvero il più vicino a qualcosa di paragonabile ad una struttura di canzone black metal. Gli altri sono capitoli a sé, avrebbero potuto essere pubblicati autonomamente per la loro natura di jam session degradata in un mare di noise. Sembra proprio di assistere ai ragazzi che entrano in sala prove, fanno partire un giro di basso, un accompagnamento rituale di batteria e poi scurissima improvvisazione lancinante e disturbante. Ma è solo una mia supposizione, magari invece è solo uno il tizio dietro ai Plasmodium ed è tutto un prodotto della sua mente malata e contorta. È come immergersi in una vasca piena di siringhe usate con gli aghi che fanno cric cric mentre vi infilzano il pancino tenero? Come dite? È una scena di Saw II? Sì, mi ha fatto proprio quell'effetto. Solo che i Plasmodium non dimenticano di prostrarci con parti di noise maligno, ad onor del vero spesso tagliuzzabili visto che la durata totale è un peletto eccessiva e il risultato finale è un po' sfilacciato. A parte ciò se in futuro riusciranno a risultare più vari negli effetti usati e ad avere un suono di chitarra più assassino (esattamente come i Celestial Bodies), potremmo vederne e ascoltarne delle belle.
http://www.hardsounds.it/recensioni/plasmodium-entheognosis
Brusquement sorti du néant en décembre dernier, le groupe australien a de quoi surprendre : ne serait-ce d’abord que par le nom du groupe et le titre de l’album (le terme Plasmodium désignant un parasite à l’origine du paludisme), ou par l’artwork qui semble un peu trop propre et intrigue qui le découvre : quel est ce monstre informe aux multiples yeux que chevauche une vieille femme au regard vide ?
Les choses ne s’arrangent pas si l’on s’attelle à l’écoute de l’album ou qu’on jette un coup d’œil aux paroles.
Plasmodium délivre un black metal lourd, poisseux et chaotique qui en déroutera plus d’un. Bien loin d’un son rituel et mystique à la Urfaust comme le titre aurait pu le suggérer (en grec ancien : connaissance en dieu), Psalmodium provoque le vertige comme une mauvaise possession. L’auditeur n’est plus un simple disciple qui va consulter l’oracle en quête d’une vérité, mais il devient l’oracle lui-même et se fait à son insu Pythie, une Pythie investie par le dieu de la déchéance psychique, au-delà même de la simple folie.
Les paroles ont également de quoi surprendre (« Venerable Coital Puja- / Inhaling noxious myrcene plumes. »). C’est l’univers entier qui tournoie autour de nous, toutes ses dimensions et tous ses niveaux confondus en un désordre complet. Le Cosmos est défait et c’est le Chaos originel (ou final) qui nous apparaît. Le groupe évoque aussi bien les temps primitifs de l’humanité (« Ishango bone ») qu’une période – contemporaine ou future – où la connaissance physique de l’univers est très développée et proche de son paroxysme puisque de nombreux termes biologiques ou physiques spécifiques parsèment les paroles des chansons. Ainsi, au-delà du temps se trouve le sens de l’univers, rappelant presque une œuvre comme 2001, l’Odyssée de l’Espace. Mais la sexualité est également très présente dans les thèmes ( « Throw the body to the wind in vulgar delirium, hold the phallus to the blaze of the sun » ) comme le cœur de toute énergie et de toute vie.
Toute cette approche métaphysique explicite dans les paroles – elles-mêmes chaotiques d’ailleurs – se retrouve dans la musique qui parvient avec brio à exprimer ce tourbillon de l’univers déstructuré et bouillonnant, où dans cet ensemble magmatique tout ne fait plus qu’un :
« The essence of life itself condensed into a singular vector, / penetrating the vast gulfs of primitive matter ».
Entheognosis est donc un premier album des plus réussis pour un projet psychédélique et métaphysique franchement vertigineux, et que l’on peut qualifier sans trembler d’avant-garde. Ce que Plasmodium nous offre est radicalement nouveau et d’une profondeur qui reste à explorer ; ce projet prometteur est à suivre de très près.
http://mithratemplezine.com/chronique-plasmodium-entheognosis-2016-psychedelic-black-metal/
This Aussie band is a new acquaintance. Being described a s psychedelic black metal got me interested. Not that I am a big expert on psychedelia or the effects on the human brain or even because I like to get high but simply because I’ve had some really cool musical endeavours with psychedelic bands. I can say this much. You gotta have a great patience to be able to sit through this album. 4 tracks that range between 10 to 21 minutes says pretty much all about this. Most of the time I can relate to a band’s musical vision but with this I am at a loss. I have no bloody idea what it is that they want to say with this. I think I’ll place this as a foot note and as something I am glad to have heard but not more.
http://battlehelm.com/reviews/plasmodium-entheognosis/
Одна из самых сильнейших металлических сцен в мире это - австралийская. Дело в том, что жители этой страны ходят с той стороны земного шара, понятное дело — вверх тормашками, вот кровища-то к голове и приливает, и оттого они песни сочиняют лучше всех. Как-то так. Ну еще и оттого, что какую группу из Австралии не возьми, так все оптом хорошие, а некоторые - вообще енные. И даже больше как раз крайних.
И ЭТО ОЧЕНЬ СЕРЬЕЗНО, теперь безо всяких шуточек. Кто послушал австралийские группы, обращая именно на их локацию, то тот уже давно сделал такие выводы.
И вот пожалуйста — прошу любить и жаловать - PLASMODIUM. Melbourne, штат Victoria. Жанр: Psychedelic Black/Death Metal. Наслаждайтесь. Час и 2 минуты. Еще одно замечание, прежде чем перейти непосредственно к апокалипсису. Группа имеет полноценный состав, в котором 5 человек, совершенно обгашенных музыкальным продуктом, но все же человек. Да, кстати, песен - всего четыре, так что цифры такие - 22, 10, 15, 16. В минутах.
Дарк эмбиентом набивают свои пеньковые трубки эти камрады, воскуривая его и пуская музконтент коромыслом. Внимательно и быстро разгоняясь со странными звучками: скрипучими, скребучими, ну и так далее. Казалось бы, при чем тут БМ. Но оказывается, вот — волшба, пролетели 3 минуты и вокалист уже начинает читать свой приговор, поддерживаемый безумным барабаннером и странными звуками, издаля напоминающие примоченную гитару (и точно). И все это является блэк-эмбиентом со струнными пропилами.
Композер дает слегка отдохновения, чтобы вы расслабились, а потом муз материал начинает напоминать бешеную собаку, которая пока рвется с привязи, но уже находится в опасной близости к вашим ногам. Это тут на 110 % работает.
Ощущение тревоги вызывается, видимо, за счет хаотического напряга и эмбиентальнго соуса. Туда, оказывается, исподволь можно натолкать всего, что хочешь, и нестойкие люди уже давно ретировались бы (из Мельбурна) с антимелодического горизонта этой команды.
Слушать продукт надо на нормальной громкости, ибо тут насыпано чутка высокочастотного алмазного песка, для полировки запчастей слухового аппарата.
И пока вокалист является главной дестабилизирующей силой данного проекта — и это на 15-ой минуте психопатического армагеддона. Обладатель роскошного харша-гроулинга, расщепленного, вариативного - прямо на наших глазах.
Трак 2 - точь в точь, как взлетающий НЛО, который еще не решил куда удалиться, широко поддержанный струнными крыльями (на радость людям в черном) и синт-экзотикой такого же происхождения, странной, опять-таки эмбиентальной, но не менее жуткой. И хотя там уже несколько минут нет вокала, который уже кажется зажил в параноидальных мозгах собственной жизнью, но меломан мало обращает на это внимания, ибо насыщенность этого звукового инферно вполне самодостаточна.
Голоса появляются опять в траке три - на несколько тембров, несколько агрегатных безумных состояний, несколько сумасбродных настроений. Там местами явно попахивает бредом больного, что придает этому повествованию духа настоящей палаты номер 6 в добротно закрытом учреждении. Как и аурой места преступления, которое, кажется, было совершено ДО ТОГО.
Трак 4 преподаст жуткие уроки нервической и по большей части психоделической тру-блэковой атаки. Это здесь НАДО, чтобы сориентироваться в красном месиве, не рухнуть на скользком полу.
Настоящая сумеречная зона.
No rest for the wicked.
https://vk.com/wall216331265_2883
Come prima cosa, proporrei un applauso per i Plasmodium: non perché abbiano sfornato un capolavoro, ma in quanto sono riusciti a lasciarmi basito. E vi ricordo che chi scrive non si è fatto problemi a trattare polifonie contrappuntistiche poliritmiche.
Andiamo con ordine: non abbiamo idea di chi siano i Plasmodium, ma guardando il libretto pare che si tratti di un quintetto. I fidatissimi Archivi del Metallo riportano un tale R. Hansen dei Mutilathymn in formazione, tuttavia non si sa di cosa si occupi di preciso e comunque sembra che abbia scelto un altro pseudonimo; ammesso che faccia realmente parte del gruppo. In ogni caso, diciture quali «warp siphon» non aiutano a comprendere chi suoni cosa.
"Entheognosis" è l'album di debutto di questo progetto e i due componenti che ne costituiscono il titolo lasciano intuire un certo interesse verso tematiche spirituali e psichedeliche, che si riflette nei testi alquanto criptici e astratti, pieni di paroloni, sesso tantrico e riferimenti a ogni campo scientifico esistente. Tanta roba, insomma.
Ciò che più mi ha lasciato perplesso, tuttavia, è la musica. I sessantadue minuti contenuti in "Entheognosis" sembrano non conoscere neanche lontanamente cosa significhi avere una struttura ben definita, tanto che «Undulating Psychedelic Darkness» — così viene descritto il lavoro — tutto sommato non sembra una definizione troppo assurda. Indubbiamente si possono riconoscere elementi di Black e — in maniera più limitata — Death Metal, eppure è difficile trovare termini di paragone per questo album; si potrebbero tirare in ballo nomi quali Portal o Deathspell Omega, ma suonerebbe comunque non del tutto preciso.
"Entheognosis" è fatto di chitarre in preda a forti crisi isteriche, di scosse telluriche offerte dalla sezione ritmica e di urla deliranti e sconnesse; è un caos — in buona parte — atonale in cui si faticano a distinguere riff o parti distintive, ponendosi come un rituale da eseguire dall'inizio alla fine, seppur suddiviso in quattro mastodontiche tracce. La presenza di gemiti femminili che si prolungano per un tempo non indifferente non è neanche un elemento così sconvolgente, se si tiene conto di quanto astratto e impenetrabile è questo disco.
Alla fine della fiera, "Entheognosis" è un buon album o un esperimento incomprensibile a noi comuni mortali? Non ne ho la più pallida idea, ma di una cosa sono certo: è assolutamente affascinante. Se da un lato non riesco a concepire per quale motivo dovrei ascoltare un disco apparentemente senza logica per mia volontà, dall'altro non riesco fare a meno di immergermi completamente nell'esperienza surreale che puntualmente si ripresenta ogni volta. E — chissà — forse è proprio questo il modo migliore di apprezzare l'opera dei Plasmodium.
http://www.aristocraziawebzine.com/recensioni/9172-plasmodium-entheognosis
Você consegue imaginar uma banda de black metal no estilo das bandas escandinavas dos anos 90, só que com uma forte influência da psicodelia dos anos 60/70 e isso sair algo muito interessante de se ouvir e uma das coisas mais originais dos últimos tempos?
Pode ser difícil de imaginar essa sonoridade, mas foi uma grande surpresa pra mim, essa banda chamada Plasmodium, tente aí imagina uma mistura de Darkthrone, Mayhem, Immortal, Samael, Impaled Nazarene, Satyricon com elementos psicodélicos/progressivos de bandas como Jimi Hendrix, Blue Cheer, Black Sabbath, Pink Floyd, Cream, só que com uma atmosfera muito niilista, misantrópica e obscura.
Há muito tempo não ouvia uma banda tão original e surpreendente, diria que tem alguns elementos góticos/eletrônicos também, mas pode confiar em mim, a mistura é sensacional.
Adquira já a sua cópia e outros grandes materiais do underground mundial através do site da Satanath Records.
http://questoeseargumentos.blogspot.ru/2018/05/resenha-plasmodium-entheognosis-2016.html
If you`d have had 1000 pieces of puzzle, 50 some minutes to put it together and get one solid picture, then I bet you would not do that. In similar way, you can`t be sure what lies behind Entheognosis album.
This Australian band is an abstraction from reality. Their music stands up against any definitions of extreme genres. When I hear this album I wonder that Entheognosis is a kind of music direction you never heard before which, sometimes is a reason for calling it a new beginning for black or death metal as it might be with this record. Those tracks are schizo-paranoid ritualistic invocations of all what is beyond normal perception or meaningless. And what is senseless and rejected by the masses, it`s in this album. I should write that they have fairly normal death metal vocals, bass and drumming here but it`s guitars that deliver total chaos and music that is irreverence toward any other music. This is what makes these songs so special and kind original. They do not give you moments in music that pleases you or, are worth to remember, nothing like that - you get/feel what you hear. They are being unpredictable with their tracks. The songs have instrumental experimentation that sound-ally abusive and sonic-ally depraved. Those ideas may come from deepest corners of subconscious, never used before, like a void. But also and for sure, it comes from those Australians that proof that human brain is like a universe that surround us and by using it, you can write such unsettled and very hard to swallow album like Entheognosis. Love it or hate it but Plasmodium is a band that do it their own and they will be punished by that or worshipped by few.