ALGAROTHSYUM: “WASTELANDER’S EPOCH”

(Today we continue our series of guest posts with another review by “Andrew Jackson” . This time his subject is an album by Algarothsyum.)

Algarothsyum is a band that, chances are, you have probably never heard of. The band’s first LP is six months old and definitely has not received nearly as much exposure or praise as it should (unfortunately, so is the case for many other bands). So, when my good friend Israel (AKA: TheMadIsraeli) asked if I wanted to write a guest post or three for No Clean Singing this was one band that I just simply had to cover.

Algarothsyum is best described as an Atmospheric Blackened Death Metal band heavily inspired by apocalyptic themes and ideas. According to the band’s ReverbNation page:

 “The concept of Algarothsyum’s theme is based on a world consumed in a post-apocalyptic existence. The music provides an aural soundscape of life and survival in a nuclear wasteland.”

And Algarothsyum first release, Wastelander’s Epoch, is true to this theme. It is an entirely instrumental concept album centered on the hardships of life, catastrophes that lurk around every corner, and events that transpire in a post-apocalyptic world.

Interested yet? Then check this out:

You know you love it.

Wastelander’s Epoch is an album from which you can’t really pick out any one track and call it the best, or the standout song. Each track leads directly into the next, forming a very long, almost progressive work. The album starts on a strong note with the opening track, “Introduction – Birth of a New World”, and only continues to get better from there. Every song sucks you even deeper into the dark, post-apocalyptic world that the album creates.

The music rises, falls, creates tension, and switches between intense sections of realization and calm moments that use ambience to its greatest advantage. You can almost feel the emotions and the hardships that each section portrays, up to the massive climax that is the four-part suite title track, followed by the fantastic closing to the album, “Travelling Song”.

As a purely instrumental work, the album puts heavy emphasis on the guitars to bring in the musical hooks and maintain the listeners’ interest. Every track is a hodge-podge of catchy riffs and interesting songwriting that consistently keeps your attention all the way to the end. Even without vocals, the album works very well, and I would argue that adding vocals would spoil the rich riff-based atmosphere that the album effortlessly produces.

Every song is hypnotizing, and the instrumentation on the album is fantastic. Algarothsyum never seems to run out of clever and catchy guitar riffs, and they’re backed by excellent and versatile drums that easily switch between blast beats and slower sections. Even the clearly audible bass stands out in some sections, playing some creative lines (especially in the album’s opener).

What continues to surprise me more and more about this band is that it consists solely of one member, a guy who goes by the nickname Vhyle. This album has been entirely self-produced and self-recorded. Every instrument on the album is played solely by him (except for one solo by a guest musician). Every second of every track is pure unadulterated artistic expression and musical freedom. None of that record label bullshit, or a producer telling you what to play to make the song more marketable.

This album has been in the works for over four years (and in fact, for many more years previously, when the ideas and riffs first began to take shape); Vhyle’s blood and sweat has been poured into this album, and it shows. It’s rare for something this good to be produced by a completely independent solo project.

If you’re worried about the production quality of the album, don’t be. It’s surprisingly good for a self-produced album. Each track is in 320kb quality and sounds fantastic — very well made and crisp.

To make things even better, the album in its entirety can be downloaded for free on the band’s Bandcamp page with a name-your-price format. But, if you want to listen to the entire album first, you can do that below at any time. You know you want to.

Listen to while playing any Fallout game for greatest effect.

http://algarothsyum1.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/Algarothsyum

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