It seems as if there will never be a cease to the amount of projects that Austin Lunn has been involved with. Since starting his music career in 2003, Lunn ("A" as he is now known) has seen writing credentials for as many as five different bands, each reeking the same high quality compositions A has come to be known for. Also, each band has a drastically different sound, which once again proves the great amount of sheer talent A has when it comes to diversifying the sound of each project. His original group Anagnorisis featured a progressive metal song a la Opeth, while his arguably most popular project, the great Panopticon delves into the dank, dark world of American folk influenced black metal. His most recent project (and most recently disbanded) Plainwords is quite the departure from Lunn's previous musical outfits, and the band's swansong demo
...A New World Lies In The Ashes Of... features a near flawless combination of black metal, crust punk, post-punk and some sludge added in for some good measure.
There remains to be no conventional terms that the unique music of Plainwords could be defined under. Taking influence from genre's that seem to be the polar opposite of each other (ex. crust punk and post-punk) the sound of Plainwords is not only unique to Plainwords, but the diverse and often contrasting tones it delivers is a large contribution to what makes
...A New World Lies In The Ashes Of... a high quality release. Take for instance the song "Opacity" which features a plethora of ideas from different genres, yet flows naturally as true music should. Some sections feature distinct black metal parts, with tremolo picked sections amongst a tornado of fast paced drumming, while other moments draw their inspiration from that of post-punk, showcasing long, drawn out interludes of exhilarating and suspense building clean picked guitar. Second track, "Catalonia" proves to be the heaviest offering this release has to yield, opening with slow, doom influenced guitar intro that along with it's distorted crunch, brings a suffocating, dread filled atmosphere. As with most songs on this album however, the music soon changes direction and with d-beat punk drumming and furious power chord salvos, the amorphous Plainwords once again completely changes their sound.
What
...A New World Lies In The Ashes Of... make lack in the instrumental technicality approach they have on this record, the band more than makes up for it with sheer and raw emotions. Lunn's raspy guttural approach sounds like it could go at any moment, and coupled with the strongly emotional playing of the instruments, the band delivers a truly heart-touching performance. Guitar player W.Crow (of post-metal outfit Wheels Within Wheels) shows immense talent at creating beautiful build-up melodies, that always manage to reach their climax of enjoyability, rather than taper off and leave the listener hungry for more. Jeremy Fitzgerald, who is mostly responsible for the harsher guitar moments on the album, really does a great job of infusing his crust punk and black metal influences with some key harmonies and melodies, that retain the fierce nature of the riffs, but overall maximizes their effectiveness. In addition to being the vocalist for Plainwords, Lunn also occupies the drum stool and puts forth one of his strongest performances to date behind the kit. His playing style is noticeably less influenced by extreme metal, giving his fills and patterns much more variety and emotion then previously seen.
With all the potential Plainwords seem to contain, it truly is a shame the band broke up before releasing a full-length album.
...A New World Lies In The Ashes Of... may not have gotten the attention it deserved in 2009, but hopefully in 2010 the demo will get the rightful notice that it deserves. Plainwords may not be around anymore, but as long as
...A New World Lies In The Ashes... remains to exist, the legacy of the band will continue grow until the end of time.
