AN NCS PREMIERE: FALL OF THE ALBATROSS — “LIKE A GOOD TORNADO”

(Austin Weber provides the following introduction to our premiere of a new song by New York-based Fall of the Albatross.)

Fall Of The Albatross are a band I’ve covered before at NCS, having previously witnessed their diverse chaos live and written about it here. The group used to have a vocalist but later became an instrumental-only band, as they were when I saw them. The music you will hear below is a taste of their new sans-vocal style from their upcoming full-length, Enormous Cloud, coming out on June 24th. This is wildly original, next-level instrumental metal, concocted from a plethora of different genres and styles, with the elements arranged against each other in unique, non-linear ways.

I’m a sucker for song titles that perfectly capture the essence of the music, and when you hear “Like A Good Tornado”, you’ll understand that the title expertly encapsulates the splendidly spastic, whirlwind nature of the song. That the title defines the music as a good tornado is a key point of distinction, since tornados are typically bad — and this is anything but!

The song begins with a Psyopus sort of part, stuttering into a slithering rhythm that contorts and convulses on a quest to heavier heaviness, a goal soon achieved by a breakdown interspersed with a mix of grind drumming and split-second bouncy jazz. The music heads toward a heaving chug-down that’s augmented by slick shredded sweeps, and exits into a light-headed bobbing groove — which then perfectly flows into a fusion-Latin-jazz trifecta zone, a space awash in happiness that acts as a light, tantalizing build toward the conclusion. And this trip is brought to a close by a torrential flurry of flummoxing fretwork contrasting with spiraling back-and-forth riffing, finally reduced to a subtle slow retreat before fading out.

“Like A Good Tornado” is an exotic and enthralling experience, one that offers an accurate snapshot of the expansive, eclectic aural journey that Enormous Cloud holds in store.

https://www.facebook.com/fallofthealbatross/