Martikor – Acedia

Written by on 24-06-2024 at 10:05.

The American band Martikor unleashes its second album Acedia onto the world. The debut Soliloquy was not reviewed on Zware Metalen. Lenn is the mastermind behind this progressive death metal band, which also incorporates sludge, post-black, and a lot of experimental textures into his musical recipe. This is clearly a band that has not made it easy on themselves, as the vocals are sometimes just a bit hidden behind the instruments. Most of the time, the screams penetrate to the foreground, and we also hear all kinds of other singing, from classical to incantatory. As a listener and editor, I had quite a ‘difficult’ time with it, but after several listens, the album slowly started to sink in. In this case, progressive also means complex, complex, and more complex. When a band constructs songs in such a way, the end result is either incredibly bad or downright brilliant. From a technical perspective, Acedia is certainly no trivial or frivolous work. As expected, it’s heavy fare, primarily relying on atmosphere.

The atmosphere in question is immediately felt during the opener Soothing Rattle. Oppressive yet melodic, with a peculiar break, the band battles through this nearly ten-minute colossus with many strange electronic accents. It’s not an absolute speed train running you over, more like a slightly derailed steamroller with some sacred, even classical momentum. The roof briefly comes off when the drummer can no longer hold back and spurs the company with special patterns, sounds, and power. The frenzied vocalist ensures continuous disruption of order. There are seven predominantly long tracks, rarely shorter than seven minutes, with Elegy having a relatively calm start in the early phase of its six-minute escapade. We hear a dark palette of sounds and varied vocals, filling the space from desperate to hysterical. The heavy sludge riffs resurface, standing prominently alongside the sonic drum violence. A mere band-aid is insufficient to cover the gaping wound that the torturous soul-searching reveals. The emergency exit is nowhere to be found—in other words, there’s no escaping.

The third track, Coiled, features a guest contribution from the increasingly renowned cellist Kakophonix. The first minutes are a mix of acoustic guitar playing, cello sounds, and eerie vocals. Later, we hear drums, a rhythmic cadence, and electronic effects until the violence abruptly erupts just after four and a half minutes without warning. All elements seem to complement each other in a more fixed song structure. The build-up to the climax is rather long, but good work takes time, as they say. A Tremor in Infinity is more a case of ‘no nonsense, just action’. The band no longer beats around the bush and lets the violence run more freely. The framing of a post-black landscape with a filling of sludge and experimental torment, with vocals from Heidi shining alongside Lenn’s. The track hits hard and unrelentingly, with the faster ending phase again catching me off guard. Born Among Thorns pricks you in places you’d probably prefer it not to, but the question is whether you chose to end up in a thorn bush, or not. As a matter of fact, I choose to listen and focus on everything that comes by. Despite a quick headbang passage, this track also makes it clear that Acedia is primarily a listening album.

With Awake (Bidar), the band doesn’t need to wake me up anymore, as I’m already wide awake. The draconic and also malevolent vocals impressively dominate the musical backdrop and foreground. This shortest track is actually the one that drags me the most into a deep pit full of emotions and discomfort. So much fantastic, intense drum parts! The closing title track once again lets emotions and hell rain down upon your poor head. In a sharp, almost painful manner, Martikor covers you with a range of auditory filth. The vocal catharsis is of an almost unparalleled level, giving space to both the black metal screams and the incantatory clean vocals. As I mentioned in my opening paragraph: not an easy play, with many snags, but definitely worth my time to keep me off the streets for nearly fifty minutes. Not for every day, but certainly highly recommended for the experimental music lover.

Score:

87/100

Label:

Independent, 2024

Tracklisting:

  1. Soothing Rattle
  2. Elegy
  3. Coiled
  4. A Tremor in Infinity
  5. Born Among Thorns
  6. Awake (Bidar)
  7. Acedia

Line-up:

  • Lenn – Guitars, bass, vocals, keyboard
  • Keenan – Drums
  • Heidie – Vocals
  • Cello on “Coiled” by KAKOPHONIX

Link: