I’m back! It feels like I haven’t written here in ages, due to school and my own website, mostly. But I’m back on the Heavy! This resurrected

6 years ago

I’m back! It feels like I haven’t written here in ages, due to school and my own website, mostly. But I’m back on the Heavy! This resurrected column will now be a monthly feature where I point the Heavy crowd to some more obscure releases that deserve to be heard.

This Needs Your Immediate Attention!

Exlimitir is a solo project from a Canadian musician that wants to remain anonymous, but that has had multiple different projects in the past. This time around, with It Weighed Itself in Silver, Exlimitir aims to create a blackened, technical death metal monstrosity shrouded in mystery and chaos. At just over thirty minutes, this debut is an impressive collection of ripping riffs, cavernous growls, and incredible songs.

What I like about it is the mind-blowing instrumentation, as much on guitar as on bass, and the grimy vocals. One thing I like less is the production value and the way the programmed drums sound. Even though there are far worse offenders, these could and should be better. But even that can’t keep me away from enjoying these dank riffs and that bleak atmosphere.

Beyond that, the album follows an obscure concept story that stems from the many other projects of the entity behind Exlimitir. This gives the lyrics a really interesting and engrossing quality since they read like you’re always on the brink of unveiling one of the secret connections of the hidden concept.

Hopefully, more will follow from the same musician!

A Look to the Past

Even though I mostly listen to recent releases, I get a blast from discovering an older album from time to time. This time, a friend of mine suggested this truly jaw-dropping jazz fusion album! This is twice surprising considering Spaced Out is a band that comes from Montréal, which is my cultural capital. Evolution in their latest album, and it dropped ten years ago, already.

If you decide to hit play, you will be taken on a rollercoaster ride of heavy jazz fusion in the vein of Planet X (but less metal). Each musician here displays a level of playing that is completely surreal, but the real show comes from Antoine Fafard’s gargantuous work on bass guitar! This provides even more support for the belief that Québec breeds some of the best thumpers out there.

It is of an unspeakable sadness that Spaced Out is no more, but if you want its spiritual successor, look no further than the bassist and composer Antoine Fafard, who is now releasing music under his own name.

A Look to the Future

One thing I’ve been really excited about is the impending release of Piniol‘s debut album. The project stems from a collaboration of two extremely noteworthy avant-prog bands from France: Poil and Ni. The merger of the two creates a beast with fourteen arms that play two basses, two guitars, and two drumkits. On top of that, six of the seven members contribute to the off-kilter vocals, which is more than impressive!

For now, there is only one song available for streaming, “Pilon bran coucou”, as the album is due on 27 April. At least, this song is 14 minutes long and successfully demonstrates the artistic noosphere of the group, and it promises! I don’t think there is anything quite like that atmospheric, droning, and eclectic prog rock. The closest thing, really, is listening to a Poil album, and even that falls short.

It looks like this is going to be one of the highlights of the year, so keep your eyes peeled!

If you want more obscure and weird music recommendations, be sure to visit my website!

Dave Tremblay

Published 6 years ago