SOMNOLENT - Renaissance Unraveling

Renaissance Unraveling is the sophomore release from Ukraine-based five-piece, Somnolent, and is, without a doubt, one of the strangest albums I’ve ever heard.

This isn't a bad thing – as all the tracks are very well played and produced, and the odd, almost disjointed effect comes more from the order of the tracks, rather than the tracks themselves. Allow me to explain…

First on the list is ‘Exhale’ – a rockin’ track with pounding drums, distorted guitars, and harsh, growling vocals. This is followed by ‘Emptiness Beyond the Horizon’, which continues with the aforementioned drums, guitars, and vocals. Then, just as you’re starting to really get a feel for the sound of this album, ‘Visible World Eraser’ brings in its mellowed wah-wah guitar and slow bass beat, and you’re left with the distinct feeling that the acid has finally kicked in.

This flow continues throughout the album, with a hardcore track followed by an almost atmospheric, ambient track, resulting in the listener being constantly brought up short. ‘Chrysalis Verge [Part 1: Inside]’ and ‘Chrysalis Verge [Part 2: Tearing Out]’ try to reconcile these two distinct types of tracks by combining the growling vocals and distorted rhythm guitars with a quiet drum set and clean guitar riffs. Somnolent finishes the entire album off with ‘Division of Nihil’, which starts off almost ambient, before combining the two, aforementioned elements, and finishing very quietly and mellow.   

As I said, it’s a weird album, but once you get past that initial “wtf?” moment of the first listening, you start to pay more attention, and perhaps that’s the point. This is not an album that really works as background music; it’s something you really have to listen and pay attention to.

As soon as you start getting into the metal mood, the album does a 180, and you find yourself imagining having a few glasses of red wine with some friends in the wee hours of the morning… then suddenly you’re back in the moshpit.

It’s the kind of album that screws with your mind – it takes your pre-conceived ideas about what metal should be, and how it should be presented, scrunches them up into a tight ball, stomps on them several times with steel-capped boots, and then sets them on fire for good measure. Call me crazy, but I like it.

Album: Renaissance Unraveling

Year: 2011
 

Track List:

1. Exhale!
2. Emptiness Beyond The Horizon
3. Visible World Eraser
4. P.R.O.S.E. [Poem Risen On Somnolence Error]
5. Solipsistic Exfoliation
6. Chrysalis Verge [Part 1: Inside]
7. Chrysalis Verge [Part 2: Tearing Out]
8. Division Of Nihil

Visit: www.myspace.com/somnolentband