Theologian — A Means By Which To Break The Surface Of The Real
Nothing Under the Sun presents A Means By Which To Break The Surface Of The Real, the new LP by NYC dark industrial purveyors: Theologian. Theologian, primarily the work of Lee M. Bartow (Theologian Prime) is joined on this recording by David Castillo (Primitive Weapons, White Widows Pact) and Daniel Suffering (Whorid), with contributions from Matt Slagle and engineer Kevin D. Reilly, Jr.. If you’re expecting some dark shit, you would be right.
A Means By Which To Break The Surface Of The Real offers 4 tracks of bleak industrial soundscapes. Overall, the album is far more blackened drone and monotonous dense electronics than I would’ve expected, but that suites me just fine. The album’s first opening salvo is entitled, “God Comes as a Wall.” The piece unfolds as a cold slab of dense atmospherics, near meditative in delivery if not for the delayed, harrowing vocals that penetrate the blackened mass of sound. It’s reminiscent of the sounds of industrial machinery barreling along; moving metal parts engulfed in plumes of exhaust smoke. “Surface of the Real,” is the album’s shortest track clocking in at 3:31 and understandably feels like a interlude to a beefier track. A buoyant bass beat clashes with eerie synths that sound akin to wailing banshees.
“The Sun Failed to Rise Today” moves into into lengthier territory. Clocking in at 10:46, the piece conjures images of a post-apocalyptic nightmare state. Armed soldiers and robot automatons clear the streets of the burnt carcasses of rebels and rioters, and what I’m listening to is their soundtrack. Plodding, dive bomb beats and menacing synthwork make up this funeral dirge. The album’s final piece “Truthseeker’s Pick” is a massive 21 minute slab of dense, swarming electronics. Layers of electronic humming and pulsing weave together in focused repetition, sounding more like a living organism than piece of synthwork. Half way in, percussive elements rattle through the piece and seemingly obscured vocals drown in the maelstrom of sound. A meditative foray for sure, that manages to stay cold and bleak, yet strangely organic.
A Means By Which To Break The Surface Of The Real is a solid foray into dense industrial noise and blackened drone. For some reason, I was under the impression that this would be a straightforward power electronics album, but it’s for more subtle and focused than I was expecting. That’s a pleasant surprise in my book. A solid release through and through.