Review Summary: And the album that should have been a Matrix movie soundtrack is...
From Renraku, the same label that brought us Aleph’s excellent
Ego Death album last year, comes Billain’s new tour-de-force, the ninety-minute blast of a handful of electronic subgenres—and honestly one of the most epic things I’ve ever heard—
Lands Unbreached.
Indeed, to be blunt: the album is huge, almost absurdly huge.
Both in its sound and scope,
Land Unbreached sets out to be theatrical and unapologetically over the top, and the results are genuinely outstanding, surprising as it may be. The album continues the story of the electronic producer’s first full-length, 2019’s
Nomad’s Revenge, yet this time out Billain relies more on the sound of his electronic skills to tell the story rather than an abundance of vocal snippets. This is a good thing, as the bombast of the music is the real hero here and speaks well for itself—and admittedly, it’s really all I care about as a listener. Those that are interested in Billain’s sci-fi plot progression can read a summary on his various social media platforms.
“Breach” opens this sucker up and features a guest vocal melody from Tasha Baxter that’s quite catchy. The highlight of this track, however, is the entrance of powerful drums beats and then a drum and bass section that shows light on the incredible sound design-production paint that Billain has on display here. The music sounds huge, and it only gets better from here.
As
Lands Unbreached continues, Billain proves to be a master of pacing—I had some initial reticence about
Lands Unbreached before I heard it; mainly I worried that it would be a constant pile-driving assault on my eardrums. But this is not a case at all, as a careful use of loud and soft sections are implemented throughout the album’s ninety-minute playtime. Indeed, Billain knows how to work his sound dynamics, always keeping his listeners in mind: Songs like the soothing downtempo of "Memory Block," “Second Dream,” and the hip-hop-esque rhythm slow-bounce of “Battery Boy” serve as expertly placed respites from the more hectic drum and bass sections of songs “Y3k”, the pre-release single “Interceptor”, and the neuro-funk-energized “Newgrooveorder”.
It’s this variety of electronic subgenres on
Lands Unbreached that helps justify its ninety-minute length. The songs consistently stay interesting, and the listener never really knows what Billain will do next. It’s in the album’s slower tracks as well where Billain often delivers a memorable piano melody or string ensemble piece which will stick in your mind constantly after listening, as on "Infinite Blue," the end of “Mekanize You,” and the whole of the aforementioned “Second Dream,” which wouldn’t be out of place on a Hammock album.
The combination of final two cuts “Reincarnation” and “Overcome” serve as a phenomenal ending slice to the beast Billain has delivered into the electronic world. Drum and bass sections transition to ambient calm, and then back again to drum and bass, synth string swells, drum and bass, and then one final calm section at the end of “Overcome” with some vocal dialogue to conclude the album and its story. It’s a fitting ending to an album that fans of cyberpunk-themed, energized electronic music must listen to as soon as possible. Think Lynyn’s excellent
Lexicon album released earlier this year or 0edit’s cult-classic
Neotokyo soundtrack, except all the notches are turned way up, as high as they can go.
Also, how about that amazing album art?
