Industrial metal per se hasn't exactly been a genre that I have consciously explored, with the only bands that can nearly be considered industrial metal being those that have fused electronic elements into other forms of extreme metal, such as
Iperyt and
Mysticum. Sweden's
Plutonium this year releases their sophomore full length album,
Devilmentertainment Non-Stop, and just from the title itself, the seasoned metalhead would probably already know what to expect, a destructive, yet satisfying and entertaining ride ahead.
The black metal elements of
Plutonium is immediately obvious right from the opening track A Tribute to the Tools of the Cosmic Abortionist, with the only part that can rightfully be considered "industrial" being the programmed drums, with the hard hitting beats on the snare and bass drums, and the small electronic elements that were included on the track.
Otherwise, the track presents to listeners a good blend of Norwegian and Swedish styled black metal, well, at least up to the mid-point of the track with the short break, but this is just a short interlude before the chaos begins once more.
As per other industrial/black metal bands and albums, the electronic elements take head once in awhile, though the it seems that
Plutonium largely prefer their black metal, with most tracks having a nice balance of both industrial and black metal elements. Also, the drums, while programmed, sound sufficiently human, with beats that don't sound too humanly impossible, and this is definitely a nice touch to the overall sound of the album. Songs such as the title track
Devilmentertainment Non-Stop, on top of making use of the synths, also see the riffing on the guitar leaning more towards a non-conventional style of playing, yet fitting to the whole musical theme on the music. The atmosphere throughout the album is also kept up through not only the background synths, but also the trebly tone of the guitars, which provide a bleak outlook to the listener, along with the superb songwriting. There are even some psychedelic moments hidden throughout the album, such as the moments towards the end of
Devilmentertainment Non-Stop.
The more industrial tracks on the album, such as Peace Keeper surprisingly manage to keep me engaged throughout, with a trance-inducing (pun unintended, hur hur) tempo of the drums and simply a spoken vocal at the background, a social commentary about the injustice and hypocrisy in society. The dark atmosphere is also fitting, complete with the tolling of bells, the heavy, distorted tone of a rumbling bass and synths slowly creeping in towards the later part of the song, building up to a climax before letting it all crash down in The
Misery King, which sees
Plutonium going back to the black metal style once more, only with a somewhat punk-ish feel in the song, reminding listeners of later works of bands like
Satyricon with the simple yet effective execution of the individual instruments. In fact, the track itself reminds me of the aforementioned band's track, K.I.N.G., with the alternating between simple, straightforward drumming and double-bass pedalled moments.
As promised by band mastermind J. Carlsson,
Devilmentertainment Non-Stop is a further exploration of the band's previous releases and features a wider range of influences, and this is evident through the alternating between fast, intense numbers and slower, more retrospective moments such as those on Unintelligent Design. The constant switching between chaotic and more peaceful moments, and the raw, trebly riff layered above the calm synths at the background also mess with the listener's head sufficiently, resulting in the listener not knowing what to expect when the band jumps from one moment to the next, constantly surprising the listener.
Devilmentertainment Non-Stop, to say the least, has been an entertaining journey throughout, with the nice balance that band mastermind J. Carlsson has put in place, and this album can potentially be one of the best bridging album between the two vastly different genres.
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