People with nyctophobia (fear of darkness or night) who see the evening approaching, know that another moment of tension and fear is imminent and would, if they could, gladly postpone it. Is it not the same with death? You know it will come eventually, but you prefer to delay it for as long as possible. Yet, there’s nothing wrong with dying. It’s a part of life.
Or is it? Hailing from New Jersey, United States, Replicant seems to think differently. Their most recent, and third, album bears the title Infinite Mortality. Is the band searching for this? Why not for the often much more coveted immortality? The process indicating the cessation of vital functions of a living being until the stage of death is reached is a singular event and not something that can and will persist endlessly. Or could it be that reaching that stage allows you to make yourself immortal because death never occurs?
People with ataxophobia (fear of chaos, unpredictability, and disorder) would do well to stay away from this Infinite Mortality. Directly from Acid Mirror, an endless barrage of unpredictability, cruelty, and disquiet is unleashed upon you. Not suitable for those searching for manageability, clarity, and control.
Rushed, erratic drums that often stray from the beaten path, terrifying, distorting melodies, heavy, voluminous riffs, the malevolent, rasping, wailing vocal onslaught that ensures a grating vocal assault, unusual, avant-garde elements, excessive fury, and a solid, weighty density define the sound of the album. Nowhere does the technical dissonance turn into mere gimmickry, nowhere does it sound artificial. All in service of the compositions… or should I say: in the service of instilling turbulent desparation in the tracks? The band seems to relish sowing doubt. This is even reflected in the transitions between the tracks, sometimes seamlessly blending into one another. Almost to the point where they seem to meld into one track. Listen to the transition from Acid Mirror to Shrine To The Incomprehensible or how SCN9A almost morphs into an intro for Pain Enduring.
The nine compositions on Infinite Mortality constantly shift in mood and pace (Acid Mirror, Pain Enduring, Planet Of Skin). At no point do you feel like they are a kind of patchwork of loose parts glued together. Each song on the album may be an adventure in itself, but Infinite Mortality still reads like a well-crafted story. Not loose chapters glued together, but a unity. By adding a few small accents, Replicant loosens the ink-black, loose consternation slightly, so that everything runs a little smoother. Responsible for this are, for example, villainous solos (Acid Mirror, Pain Enduring), moments where the dissonance is lightly pressed down (Reciprocal Abandonment, Dwelling On The Threshold), adding some extra melodic layers (Planet Of Skin) or the colliding, devastating accelerations or disorienting slowdowns (in Orgasm of Bereavement and Nekrotunnel).
Is there also a phobia or fear of routine, daily actions, for always treading the beaten paths? If so, the label could easily be applied to Replicant. The trio seems to be averse to it, creating on Infinite Mortality an almost surreal, frightening musical landscape in which chaos reigns. That unrest is cherished, allowed to exist, and is what is aimed for. Out of the chaos emerges an album that is demanding, idiosyncratic, exhilarating, technical, compact, dissonant, and massive. “Life is nothing without a little chaos to make it interesting,” wrote American author Atwater-Rhodes in her book Demon In My View. And that’s exactly it!
Score:
90/100
Label:
Transcending Obscurity Records, 2024
Tracklisting:
- Acid Mirror
- Shrine to the Incomprehensible
- Orgasm of Bereavement
- Reciprocal Abandonment
- SCN9A
- Pain Enduring
- Nekrotunnel
- Dwelling on the Threshold
- Planet of Skin
Line-up:
- Peter Lloyd – Guitars, keyboards
- Itay Keren – Guitars, vocals
- Mike Gonçalves – Vocals, bass
- James Applegate – Drums
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