Bloodmoon: I

Since emerging in the early 90s, Converge have remained innovative and open to collaboration, carving out their mercurial sound alongside Cave In, the Hope Conspiracy, Genghis Tron, Neurosis, and Disfear, among others. On Bloodmoon: I, the metalcore/mathcore pioneers team up with doom-folk songstress Chelsea Wolfe, Ben Chisholm, and Cave In vocalist/guitarist Steve Brodsky for a mesmerizing 11-song set that pairs bracing hardcore with expansive symphonic and post-metal. This propagated version of the band, which at the time also included Neurosis Steve Von Till, made its debut at the 2016 Roadburn Festival in The Netherlands under the Blood Moon moniker. Conflicting schedules kept the super-charged group out of the studio until 2019, and a pandemic saw the remaining sessions completed remotely. Still, this remarkably cohesive album suffers from none of those inequities. Commencing with the labyrinthine title cut, the band continuously seeks out the nooks and crannies between beauty and discord, revealing layers of artfully crafted ultra-violence peppered with fever-dream lyrics. All three vocalists bend and twist their respective pipes to serve the songs while retaining their idiosyncrasies -- the pummeling Jacob Bannon-led Tongues Play Dead and the equally unrelenting Wolfe-fronted Lord of Liars are kissing cousins sonically, but they evoke disparate emotional ruins. The groups willingness to experiment pays dividends throughout, with moments of pure savagery, intricate world building, and widescreen grandeur often inhabiting the same measure. Even at its most melodic -- the opulent goth pop stunners Coil and Blood Dawn -- Bloodmoon: I bristles with nervy unease. That particular brand of agitation is textbook Converge, but with Brodskys inventive arrangements and Wolfes ethereal soprano added to the arsenal, that innate disquiet is glorious to behold. ~ James Christopher Monger

暗黒の歌姫チェルシー・ウルフやケイヴ・インのスティーヴ・ブロドスキーを交え、総勢7人体制で挑んだコラボ作。疾走感は控えめに、本作はスラッジ/ドゥーム・メタルに通じるスロウ曲がメイン。不気味かつ官能的、映像換気力に優れた演奏アプローチはそれぞれの音楽領域に浸食しながら、未知のヘヴィーさを探究する野心に燃えている。動から静へ、作品トータルの流れも堪能してほしい奥深い一枚だ。
bounce (C)荒金良介