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Released on January 29, 2016 via Independent
About 20 years ago, I was lucky enough to see Minsk play in a tiny, dingy, rundown bar. Ever since then, I’ve had a great appreciation for doom metal. The ability to define a physical space using sound and then fill that space appropriately to create a seemingly sonic sculpture displays a great deal musicianship and sense of what the individual songs require. With their latest release, Alight, the lads in Absent/Minded have firmly cemented their place in the doom genre, and they’re bringing a little something extra, too.
The opening track, ‘Light Remains’, really helps to set the tone of the entire album. It opens with a typical sustain/distortion driven sludge riff that we’ve all come to love from the doom genre. From there, Steve (vocals), Uwe (guitar), Andreas (bass) and Jürgen (drums) basically give the listener a strong blend of doom, sludge, and straight up heavy metal. After the initial verses and chorus, the song takes a turn into a breakdown reminiscent of something you would hear on a Down album. This breakdown helps to lighten the mood of the song without sacrificing any of the song’s weight. Eventually, the track comes full circle and is bookended with the opening riff.
‘Stargazin’’, the second track, is basically a lesson on using music to convey mood and setting. In a seeming tribute to the space shuttle Challenger disaster, the instrumental track moves from a very serious, but uplifting sound to one of sombre emptiness. Andreas’ drumming really moves the song along and allows the guitars to fill the space appropriately.
Next up is the roller coaster track, ‘Clouds’. This nine-minute epic has virtually everything you could want from an album of this genre: sections of intense volume that place the listener in the centre of a hurricane to calm, ethereal moments that evoke a feeling of floating in nothingness. This has got to be one of their most physically demanding songs to play live.
If the first three tracks hadn’t done so already, track four, ‘Arrivers’, will really get your adrenaline going. Imagine you’re driving up a hill. The song’s staccato riff, syncopated rhythm, and steady beat keep pushing you further and further up the hill till you reach the top. Once the apex is reached, you are afforded a little rest and a great view. Now imagine that you realize that your brakes don’t work and you start rolling down the other side of the hill. You can feel yourself gaining momentum, moving faster and faster, watching everything outside flashing past. Eventually, the song hits bottom with a resounding splash and finally comes to a nice, calm end.
Track five again takes us through several different spaces that are all seamlessly integrated. From the opening of acoustic guitars and overtone vocals to the middle section of melodic churning riffs and deep, death metal growling, all the way through to the complete lack of drums in the final minute of the song, ‘Skies of No Return’ is the perfect set up for the final track of the album, ‘So Dark, the Con of Man’.
The closing number of Alight places the listener in a completely black and empty space. The guitars start off with the main riff of the song and it is picked with very specific purpose. Make note of the Carl Sagan sample as well. Each note seems to enable light to slowly seep in. As it moves on for the next four minutes, drums and bass are added slowly and surely, eventually giving way to a soft orange glow that sheds light on the surroundings. Once you have been able to regain your sense of space, the distortion and vocals kick in and off we go. The second half of the song shows great restraint on the part of the musicians which allows the song to develop organically. It’s not overdone in any way which, in turn, helps to bring the album to a natural close.
The production is slightly guitar heavy. I would have preferred a little more of the drums to come through but it doesn’t really take anything away from the overall mix. It can best be described as a little dull or dirty, which actually adds to the overall tone and feel to the album, giving it that much more of a visceral feel.
Overall, this is great album. There is definitely something for everyone here.
