How much concept can a record stand? When is the artistic pressure too big? Is there a point when music can become too overloaded? Well, if there is one band out there who does not care about these questions, then it is surely Dutch Avantgarde Black Metal band Grey Aura, as they show on their new full-length that they’re open for a lot. A LOT!
First of all, yes, this record is the second and probably final part of the concept series which started four years ago with Zwart Vierkant (here you can find our review) and to continue a concept from one record to the next is already something. To embellish it by making music as diverse and different as this record is something else all together again. However, the concept here is transcending the confines of the vinyl records it is pressed on, because both records follow a story-line based on the book De protodood in zwarte haren written by Ruben Wijlacker, Grey Aura’s vocalist. Nevertheless, the intertextuality doesn’t end here, because Pedro, the protagonist of the story, is basically obsessed with Kazimir Malevich’s painting “Black Square”, developed in Pre-Soviet Union Russia shortly before the beginning of World War I. The painting is simply what the title tells you – a black square and even though it might be a counterpiece to the architecture of the Red Square in Moscow with all its Russian Baroque elements it is of course open for discussion and interpretation. Pedro is so obsessed with the painting that he gathers a group of followers, including a group of Dutch artists to help him create his own version of it; is this group then a kind of a musical self-portrait then? The artist in the art? Remember, breaking the boundaries between art, the artist and also the audience was a huge part of the Avantgarde, so in a way, this idea is of course also reflected in Grey Aura basically being that group of artists.
You see, here is a lot of concept behind the music and when listening to the lyrics (and maybe translate them if you do not understand Dutch), one might come to the conclusion that it’s simply too much. But if one then listens to the music, this amazing collection of eleven tracks and roughly 48 minutes running time, one can simply lay back and let this side of the record overwhelm you. This kind of Avantgarde Black Metal is overwhelming in a positive way. The tracks are never too long, the longest one is 7:34 minutes, and we also get some interludes providing some pauses, and the feat surprising me the most is the band’s ability to play with instruments and styles. When you hear a kind of Russian style guitar (shall it resemble a balalaika?) then this is done with regular acoustic guitars – but the emulation of sound is so perfect, one only notices the lack of a “real” Russian instrument when looking at the list of participants. Or also the addition of cello melodies and some few tuba and trombone parts simply makes sense on this record. All people involved in the making of this record have done a tremendous job in not only releasing a very interesting story but also a record so brimful with remarkable music that the latter is already enough for every music lover. When Seth van de Loo uses every part of the drum kit (including some amazing rimkicks!) and Sylwin Cornielje supports this demonic drive forward with some powerful bass-lines the tightness of this new rhythm section creating music as diverse as the Jazz elements, the marches and all the various Black Metal genres will leave some people speechless (including yours truly). However, the ease with which Tjebbe Broek and Ruben incorporate their various guitar lines, riffs, hooks and everything a six-string can do (performed on various kinds of guitars) conjuring Black Metal hurricanes and also some very different soundscapes (which in themselves again carry the concept of the record) should also be noted.
This record is amazing from start to finish – oh did I mention that the final track on this final part of the concept series revolving around Malevich and his painting is titled ”Slotstuk”? Yes, the final track is the title track and its translation is “Final Piece”. Fitting, ay?
PS: I would not be surprised if these guys also know the song which first made me look up Malevich’s painting – Einsturzende Neubauten’s ”Sabrina” where Blixa sings ”It’s as black as Malevich’s square / the cold furnace in which we stare”.
