Anyone who hasn’t listened to Eckhart Tolle’s teachings should. Without exception. He brings a perspective that would be completely foreign to the lamen. I’m not saying pull out your abacus and head to your local library. The intro the Dystopia’s self titled will do.
The album begins with an excerpt from Eckhart Tolle’s audiobook, The Power of Now. This is then layered with a second sample from the audiobook. His monotone dictations couple perfectly with the feedback intro and sludge-influenced, hardcore instrumental. The two combine into an anthropomorphic mess that complements itself perfectly.
Once the verse kicks in, Now and Forever begins the album with what you will hear the rest of the way. Straightforward, distortion laden, thick and heavy riffs backed by an undeniably solid bass and drum rhythm section. This is more of a lecture than an album. The lyrics and frontman completely take the spotlight on Dystopia’s self titled. Each song follows a theme of drug addiction, existential crises, anti-nationalism, or whatever sick and disgruntled topics were on the mind of the musicians at the time. The only respite is the instrumental doodling in between the brutality and the terrifying samples these folks placed in their intros.
This is nothing new for Dystopia. Their entire career was concocted on the principles of self hatred and misanthropy. It may be hard to believe, but albums preceding this one were even less accessible. Where previous releases focused on their largely punk roots, this takes more of a sludge focused path. Each song has an enormous, sludgy riff as the theme and waltzes around this riff with grating vocals and painstaking lyrics until its final conclusion. The only respite is a few extraordinary depressing samples and the beautifully executed rhythm sections. Whether it be the opening and bridge of Now and Forever or the completely and absurdly perfect intro to My Meds Aren’t Working, the question of whether these musicians have spent eons together mastering their craft is easily answered.
It is undeniable that the instrumental sections alone would garner the same rating at the top of this review. But it would be a complete disservice to the message and overall direction of the album. The album opener actually disputes Eckhard Tolle’s teachings of independence and self actualization. With lyrics such as “If the past doesn’t exist, Then where the fuck does that leave us”, Dystopia rejects the message of The Power of Now. The next four tracks completely forgo musical integrity and decency to shit all over modern society. “Double click for friendship, Double click for love, Salvation is under my palm, Click here for serenity, Bliss was here all along”. Does that seem like something out of place in a hardcore, sludge record? Well it is. But goddamn does it ring true. And that’s the point. While the rhythm sections are competent, they are unbelievably repetitive and didactic; all a powerful ruse for the drummer/vocalist to spew his hatred and dystopic thoughts.
These break full permanence on the final two tracks. Number One Hypocrite is a complete dismantlement of American patriotism. It follows the same musical formality as the rest of the album, but with a brevity beyond anything you’ve heard thus far. The riffs are tight and powerful to match the poignant lyrics. Dystopia, much like Eckhart Tolle, flips your entire view on reality with the powerful line “You are the fucking terrorists”, hammering home the message that we, as the American people, are on the complete wrong side of our mentalities.
The album closes with My Meds Aren’t Working. And the intro that will make you question everything you’ve heard thus far. Where everything had been straightforward and simian to this point, My Meds Aren’t Working begins in a similar way to how Dystopia started their career. The eponymous Stress Builds Character was the opener of their original release. And boy did it begin with a doozy of a jam session, with bass and guitar leading the front, only for the drums and screeched vocals to come in with ferocity with lyrics not about self hatred. But self intolerance...and hatred. My Meds Aren’t Working expands on this to a point that Dystopia had not reached at this point in their career (and will never reach again). The poignant dismantlement of oneself on My Meds Aren’t Working would be humorous if it wasn’t so honest and true. This is a thank you for listening to the fans. A fuck you to oneself, a fuck you to every person listening, and a fuck you to the strings that hold the world in place. Fuck you
