It was predictable that sooner or later I, Voidhanger Records would have crossed paths with the brilliant guitarist Mick Barr and drummer extraordinaire Tim Wyskida, two Renaissance Men of the metal genre, among the experimental artists who have been able to modernize its vocabulary.
In the first decade of the new century, Mick Barr's post-minimalist guitar playing in projects such as OCRILIM and ORTHRELM managed to bring together apparently irreconcilable musical worlds, for example the avant-garde one of La Monte Young, Terry Riley and Rhys Chatham and that of black metal in its most hypnotic and mesmeric declinations, explored by Barr also in KRALLICE and BEASTLOR.
Tim Wyskida is most recognized for his work in KHANATE and BLIND IDIOT GOD, and has recorded and/or performed with the likes of INSECT ARK, CASPAR BRÖTZMANN, JODIS, KHLYST and GINNUNGAGAP among others. Minimalism, maximalism, wide-ranging tempos & dynamics, accelerandos & ritardandos and improvisation are consistent aspects of his style, thanks to his experience in a wide variety of groups including orchestras, jazz ensembles and rock/metal bands.
Produced by Colin Marston, THE OVERMOLD is the fruit of the prodigious alchemy between these two artists. The duo experiments with doom and drone metal, arriving at an atmospheric synthesis that plays on the contrast between full and empty parts, between sluggish electrical ruminations and sudden rhythmic accelerations, reaching peaks of sophistication and elegance in the 35 minutes of the title track. Following, a handful of shorter but equally visionary songs, almost psychedelic in their rarefied and alienating harmonic development, suspended in time and space.
"The Overmold" is an album of icy beauty, magnetic charm and emotional depth, experimental without being inaccessible, and always generous in creating sinister and menacing atmospheres to which abandon oneself.