Autarkh - Emergent

2023-11-09 08:00:12

Once again, Michel Nienhuis dedicates himself to the musical adventure playground Autarkh. The Dodecahedron founder combines all kinds of progressive and extreme metal varieties with electronic and industrial, rough and playful at the same time, accompanied by ambient-like inserts and densely woven sound carpets. The latest prank takes you on a journey into the core of the universe, where light and darkness fight a constant conflict. „Emergent“ once again successfully pushes against musical boundaries and pigeonholes.

The sheer energy of the opening “Open Focus” underlines quite clearly what Autarkh is all about. It takes quite a while until a track emerges from the sea of ambient, beats and vocals, buttery soft and springy, audibly dedicated to the bright moments in life. Although the action intensifies almost constantly, despite all the energy output, a certain stoic, difficult to grasp calmness remains present, which collides with significantly more dissonance in “Strife”. Screams and industrial interludes dismantle the track and reassemble it, ponderous and manic at the same time.

An “Eye Of Horus” finally increases the tempo suddenly and hits the door with its slightly jazzy prog vibes – intricate, complex and heavenly, somewhat reminiscent of various Townsend projects. A particularly exciting, hard-to-describe energy emanates from the rhythm section with its dominant bass line, while several caesuras rattle through. “Trek”, on the other hand, loves extremes and explodes from the starting blocks. High-speed post-black metal attacks meet melodic prog rock soundscapes and lots of drama in the vocals, as if Borknagar were colliding with Porcupine Tree. When the final “Ka” gradually sheds angry ballast and unleashes a powerful prog anthem, everything is in vain.

The almost constant musical confusion is detrimental to the substance, but also puts you in a good mood. “Emergent” is one of those records that you have to get involved with first and that only reveals its full appeal very slowly. Self-sufficient, playing with limits and extremes, always going through the roof and also finding room for the beautiful musical things in life. Full brute force, ambient electronics, modern prog barrage and crazy anthems come together. In fact, the play with light and shadow is made tangible in this way – a tour de force for the patient that is absolutely worth it every second.

Rating: 8/10

Available from: November 10, 2023
Available via: Season of Mist (Soulfood Music)

Website: autarkh.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Autarkh