“Negative Black“ marks the return of the german behemoth doom machine Black Shape of Nexus. It’s been four years since its predecessor “Microbarome Meetings” but i can already say that all of this delay was really worth it. Recorded in the mild winter of 2011/12 this album is a new mark in the discography of Black Shape of Nexus, to me is by far their best recording to date and one of the heaviest, i mean really, really “heavy” in the whole sense of the word, albums of the year. This is going to be your neighbours favorite soundtrack, wheither they like it.. or not. Having an unbelievable length of 80 minutes, this album is meant to tear down every single building where it will be played at. So take a deep breath and prepare to let your skull be successively pummeled by this massive sludgy doom sledgehammer as you immerse yourself into BSON’s dark palette of “Negative Black“.
The album starts with “Illinois”, an intro that begins immediately by punishing our ears with some infernal guitar feedback, it proves automatically that these guys aren’t fooling around, so as the bass and drum fall to the ground, it begins to move, starting to grind us very slowly into this giant machine that is “Negative Black“, once there, we realize that it will be a long and painful process. And it’s throughout this process that the band seems to withdraw all the fuel they need to get this colossal machine going, like as huge mechanic bison, equivalent to a 20-story building, that crushes everyone and everything that cross in front, leaving behind nothing but a trail of destruction as it marches along at a very, very slow pace.
Read the rest of the review after the jump!
After this painful introduction, we are repeatedly punished over and over as we go deeper on “Negative Black“. Tracks like “400H” or “60 WV” fill in the eardrums with more of that filthy, muscled sludge, as it’s almost inevitable not to bang our head at the rhythm of these tracks, that sound much more, “accessible” when compared to most of the older BSON material. The tracks on “Negative Black” are long, very long but the band knows how to play with that very well by creating and alternating some of the tempos. There are some peaks within the tracks where, when we least expect, they throw some occasional riffs that shakes us in this whole sonic trance. Like “10000 µF” for example, which is one of the longest tracks on this album lasting about 19 minutes, begins with what it appears to be another instrumental, filled with some movie samples, only after letting it run a few minutes, as the voice rips through this muscled wall of riffs, that’s when we realize that we are facing another massive track, but as soon we fall into ourselves and notice that it’s already too late… “14d”, another track full of that black viscous mass, sticks into our ears and penetrates in our flesh, gnawing it to the bone. Some peace arrives with “RMS”, that presents itself as a more psychedelic atmospherical track giving us some good minutes to regain strength before we continue this journey and face the wrath of the beast again. The album closes with the track that it gives the title, “Neg. Black”, the jewel in the heart of this whole process. And what better way to close this album than a mammoth track of 22 minutes? This track serves almost as a summary of the whole album, we have more atmospheric sections with those drone-laden riffs, alternating sections of a much more powerful sludge that culminates in a very dense and misty atmosphere. It’s not an easy task to embark in this sonic trip, unless you’re familiar with the previous work of the band and already know what to expect. But to those who are about to discover this for the very first time, challenge yourselves and head dive into one of the most heavy albums of the year, and remember.. play it loud.
Once again BSON proves us why they are one of the most heavy bands on the planet. “Negative Black“ is one sonic journey you won’t forget so soon. The album is already out, available on CD in a matte-varnished six-panel digifile and on 180g double LP in a ultra-heavy gatefold cover which you can order Mainstream Records Store.
New Comments