Review Summary: A crazy journey into the outer reaches of the galaxy
The boys from Behold… the Arctopus have been pushing technicality in metal to ridiculous levels, both from within, and outside of the band. During the last few years we have seen several side projects, as well as full on bands that have been tainted by one of the member’s often virtuosic touch. Whether it be Charlie Zeleny’s manic drumming on Ron Jarzombek’s Blotted Science; the controlled, jazzy chaos of Dysrythmia; or the decidedly ambient passages of Byla, the crew responsible for Behold… the Arctopus have been busy as of late, pushing the conceptions of what music can be.
Which brings me to guitarist, Mike Lerner’s project, Direwolf. This is a 50 minute hell ride through the vast expanses of space, far Beyond the Lands of Human Existence. Nearly every sound you hear on this album is Mike’s doing. Aside from playing guitar, he brings a black metal screech into the fray, which is very appropriate considering the tremolo picked nature of much of the album. The programmed drums are phenomenally done, and while lacking the depth that makes them so believable in a band such as Anaal Nathrakh, they are effective enough and provide a solid, ever changing backbone to your million-mile-an-hour journey out of the solar system.
There are ominous synth lines, spacey robot, and spoken word vocals pushing along an incomprehensible narrative, epic choruses, all over some truly fast and technical guitar playing. The guy is fast, employing a seemingly endless array of techniques that would make any lesser guitarist weep for their fingers, as well as switching up time signatures and keys at the drop of the hat. A lot of the riffs have a Cynic-esque syncopation to them. Somehow this sounds nowhere near as disjointed and chaotic as Behold… the Arctopus does, a quality that can be attributed to the aforementioned programmed drums.
Beyond the Lands of Human Existence has some truly jaw dropping parts to it. But there are aspects that make this a tiresome listen as well. The spoken word narrative pops up all over the place and spouts off sometimes cringe worthy nonsense about beings, “part gas and part matter” inhabiting “the silence between planets.” It can be somewhat overlooked however, because there is usually a crazy guitar line going on just beneath it. At 50 minutes it can be a little bit of sensory overload as well, with songs beginning to all run together into speed picked madness toward the end. This is music for deep space, and every step of the way, Beyond embodies that vibe.
