As anyone who has spent any time at our site well knows, I get enthusiastic about new musical discoveries on almost a daily basis, but rarely am I left pop-eyed and gape-mouthed in genuine wonder at a band’s achievements. But that’s what happened when I heard the two songs that we have the privilege of premiering today. And it didn’t happen just once — it has happened every time I’ve heard this music (I’ve heard one more song from the same album — and the same thing happened when I heard that one).
The band are from Belarus and their name is Serdce (a word that means “heart” in English). They released three albums between 2003 and 2009, and their fourth — entitled Timelessness — will be released for the first time by the cult Finnish label Blood Music this June. The album includes 10 songs, and what we have for you today are the 8th and 9th tracks — “Quasar” and “Newborn” — joined together as a single stream.
As you will hear, Serdce are masters at bending genres and twisting moods to suit their creative purposes. “Quasar” incorporates complex syncopated rhythms, otherworldly melodies, spellbinding guitar and bass excursions, and both bestial and airy vocal performances. It’s both massively heavy and thoroughly brain-scrambling, both voracious and transcendent. The musicians are remarkably skilled, and the extravagance of their talents shines like a beacon in this music.
“Newborn”, which is roughly the last 2:20 of this combined stream, makes a natural companion to “Quasar”. In the stream below, the transition is seamless, and it draws the listener from the exuberant explosion of “Quasar” into a place of tranquillity and reflection.
The word “progressive” is thrown around a lot in the current metal scene, often without much thought about what the word even means, or whether the label has genuinely been earned by the bands to whom it is applied. But Serdce merit the adjective. Standing on the shoulders of bands such as Cynic, Pestilence, and even Dream Theater, they are about to carve a special place for themselves with the release of Timelessness.
The vinyl edition of Timelessness will be limited to 300 copies (200 on multi-splatter, 100 on black) on 180-gram wax in a special triple-gatefold layout. The CD edition will be limited to 1000 copies with a 12-page booklet in a jewel case. Pre-orders will begin on April 23 via Blood Music, and the release date is set for June 17.
And now, here’s the music:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/SERDCE/53004004939
http://www.blood-music.com
https://www.facebook.com/BlooodMusic
6 Responses to “AN NCS PREMIERE: SERDCE — “QUASAR / NEWBORN””
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Interesting band. They kinda remind me of BTBAM (that’s a good thing). I’ll be checking out the album!
Saw the soundcloud stream of this yesterday. Luckily, that meant that I “accidentally” listened to Hyperthrash after these awesome tracks.
I definitely hear a lot of BTBAM or even Last Chance to Reason in the choruses (mostly the vocal harmonies), but that last clean bit almost sounds like the Mars Volta to me. I wasn’t huge into the intro but on a second listen it sort of reminds me of Coroner in terms of that slight between-the-beat swing feel, and the solo section after the first chorus is total Cynic worship (with maybe a little Voivod-y twist?), which is more than fine by me. Cool stuff, I look forward to hearing more!
Interesting stuff. Me likes 🙂
very cool!
Amazing stuff. Simply mind-bending in places!