Welcome, folks, to this, the latest installment in our “A Constant Knowledge of Death Are Actually Insane and Are Releasing Four Albums This Year!”. Catchy title, right? If you missed previous iterations of this post, you might not know that while ACKOD were once perhaps best known for making post-metal, they’ve decided to give each member of the band free reign by creating four albums in 2019, each with a different take on progressive metal, death metal, sludge, hardcore, post-metal, and everything in between. For this last one, Vol.III.d: Impermanence (hence forth known as Impermanence), the industrial influences have been turned up to the max, creating an abrasively metallic, corrosive, and gut-punching release. It literally made me go “what the fuck?” when I first heard it, so you know it’s good. Head on down below for your first taste!
I think the exclamative that most fits here is “oof!” Impermanence wastes no time, flying out the gate with “Ouroboros”, a track filled with so much distortion and frayed feedback that it conjures a ruined power station or decaying warehouse. The vocals, like on the previous release from the band which was also decidedly heavier, are just as frayed, abrasive screams blending with the massive guitar and drum effects. All of these influences remind us of acts like Author & Punisher or Frontierer, channeling as they do the jagged edges between man, machine, and the breaking apart of both with the passage of time. At other points, mostly on the joints which connect the tracks but sometimes as a form of “reprieve” during tracks, ethereal choirs and atmospherics channel the dark vibes of the 80’s to complete the nocturnal/degenerative theme of the album.
All of this comes together to make Impermanence a perfect closer for this series of releases as it is perhaps the album that most stands out in its style from the others. That tension really highlights how much ACKOD’s “third” release experiments with genre and style; think of the first release and its airy, acoustic prog vibes, as a starting point and Impermanence as a destination. What hellish ground have we crossed to get here? Where did we end up? Are we better off for the journey travelled? Is that even the point?
As always, you can, and should, muse on these questions while pre-ordering the release. Again, small, independent artists like these who are pushing the envelope of genre deserve and need your support. Head on over to their Bandcamp page to do so.
The End….or is it?