Choronzon – Psychosis Ex Machina
The 2nd full-length, and greatly overdue release from Choronzon is upon us and even though the overly DIY/under produced sound of this album tries to take away from all the acidic layers presented by this now 2 piece union of extreme musical styles, Choronzon seems to be on the same evolutionary path set forth by the ever impressive “Magog Agog”. “Psychosis Ex Machina” possesses an underlying digital wash that can be found on a low quality MP3… this sound is even more noticeable when experimental waves of noise creep in to infect the synth and guitar lines with a rotting vibe of disease and hopelessness. All sound imperfections aside, Choronzon has adopted more of a wandering industrial feel to this new material. There are many occasions where a synth line carries the harmony and holds the electronically dense sound manipulations at bay so that P. Emerson Williams’ bi-polar vocal style can corrode in and out of vocal effects and less caustic screams to give Choronzon a very off sided and interesting attack. This is part of the creativity of this band… you never know where the music is going to take you, or what level of sound manipulation/experimentation will pervert this into down right unpleasant moments of abrasion. I can honestly appreciate this level of exploration, but for it to come off more effective or even listenable, one really needs to concentrate on obtaining more of a dense, 3 dimensional production to give your music room to expand and grow. As it stands, “Psychosis Ex Machina” is so concentrated and forced into a small space, it makes all the similar sounds fighting for comprehension within these songs, step on each other as if to cancel each other out. This added with the fact that a fair share of the songs on here are a mess structurally, or just roam along in no particular direction, it makes “Psycosis…” a tough nut to crack. I do really like the open minded journey of ideas on “Psychosis…”, but I feel that “Magog Agog” possessed more of a musical/memorable sense that acted as the sugar to make the poison go down that much easier. “Psychosis…” has a very cold and alien feel to it and this aura seems to repel my attention span rather than draw me into the core of the mindfuck Mr. Williams has so expertly cultivated on this release. I do like what I hear, but this is one of those albums that may keep me perplexed and uncertain of how I feel about it for a long time, before there is that moment of clarity thrown on like a light switch where I finally and completely “get it”. Right now, I don’t get it, but I think this album will appeal to those of you lurking in the outer limits of musical experimentation and destruction. Leave your close minds at the door. – Marty
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