AN NCS PREMIERE: INANIMATE EXISTENCE — “CALLING FROM A DREAM”

 

The new album by Inanimate Existence is a true musical kaleidoscope, composed of shifting pieces of brilliance that fall into place in unexpected and exciting ways. This won’t come as a shock to people familiar with the band’s first two albums, yet this album is likely to be surprising even to die-hard fans of this Bay Area band.

We have a full stream of the new album at the end of this post. Its title is Calling From A Dream, and it will be released by Unique Leader Records on September 16 — tomorrow. As you’re about to find out, there is truth in this statement from the band about the new album:

 

 

“After the release of our last album, we decided to take our sound to a new place while incorporating our roots. Expect deep compositions with many emotional ups and downs. Inspiration was drawn from music theorists and composers dating back thousands of years. Within Calling From A Dream, listeners will encounter a wide array of musical elements blended to form a rich contrast of sonic textures that result in a dynamic aural experience.”

Conceptually, the album is “the story of a young man’s journey to reunite with the soul of his lost lover.” “Through his dreams, she guides him across a dark mysterious world filled with gods and demons.” You can imagine such a supernatural trip as you make your way through the album. You may also understand why the kaleidoscope analogy came to mind. If you were to break open a kaleidoscope and scatter its shards of colored glass before you, it would be difficult to make sense of the pieces or understand how they could possibly fit together. Yet when you experience them configured as a changing prism, they have a wondrous effect on the mind. And so too does this album.

Among the disparate musical pieces within these dynamic songs are jolting, jarring bursts of start-stop riffs and fusillades of rapid-fire drumming; the rippling keys of what sounds like a harpsichord and the mystical expressions of a flute; swirling guitar harmonies and fiery solos; bearlike growls, cracked howls, and lofting female vocals (thanks to Adrianna Tentori); brutal, pile-driving rhythms, eerie dissonance, and gliding melodies. The pacing, rhythms, volume, and intensity are in almost constant flux, as are the moods of the music. And somehow it all hangs together, telling a story — or simply providing an ever-shifting series of visions for your mind’s eye to conceive.

 

With that preamble, dive into Calling From A Dream via the YouTube stream below — and we’ve included an index to the songs as well. To order the album, go here:

http://www.indiemerch.com/uniqueleader/search/?q=inanimate+existence

http://www.facebook.com/TheInanimateExistence
http://www.uniqueleader.com
http://www.facebook.com/UniqueLeaderRecords
http://www.twitter.com/UniqueLeaderRec
http://www.youtube.com/uniqueleaderrecords

 

Calling From A Dream — Track List:

1. Calling from a Dream 0:00
2. The Arcane Crystal 5:02
3. The Shore of Rising Shadows 7:49
4. Pulse of the Mountain’s Heart 11:10
5. Upon Whirling Winds 17:44
6. Dreaming of New Beginnings 21:59
7. Beneath the Mist 25:43
8. Falling into Malice 29:41
9. Burial at Sea 32:42