Release
date: August 26th 2016. Label: Translation Loss Records. Format:
CD/DD
Hallucinogenesis
– Tracklisting
1.PYRAMIDAL
EXISTINCTUALISM 08:56
2.LA
BREA BOREALIS 14:31
3.KOSMOCERATOPS
10:41
4.AQUALIBRIUM
11:46
Band
Members:
Arran
McInnis
Dan
LaRochelle
B.R.A.D.
Mowen
Dorando
Hodous
Benjamin
Thomas-Kennedy
Review:
Lesbian
are a band who have never been easy to categorize. With their latest
album – Hallucinogenesis, their four albums into their musical
journey and they’re just as crazy sounding we first heard on their
debut album back in 2007. If you’re new to Lesbian’s world then
be prepared for a heavy progressive journey that takes elements of
Black Metal, Doom, Thrash, Psych, Stoner, Sludge and Progressive
Metal.
Hallucinogenesishas a more structured feel compared to their previous albums. It’s
still crazy and messed up as the other albums but at least the band
follows some kind of strange psychedelic and nightmarish narrative.
The album contains four epic tracks ranging from nine minutes to
fourteen minutes in length.
Opening
track – PYRAMIDAL EXISTINCTUALISM – is epic as they come and sees
Lesbian create as many fucked up moments they possibly can. Fusing
early-Mastodon and YOB style sounds with a more nightmarish delivery.
Lesbian couldn’t have picked a more perfect song to open the album
with. It gives you a real glimpse on what the album is about.
Progressive Rock/Metal with vibe of almost every genre of metal
thrown in just for the sake of it. The vocals are pitch-black to
match the mood of the entire song. Lesbian do add clean harsh vocals
though only for a short amount of time. The instrumental parts are a
work of genius at times with highly complex rhythms being played at a
fast pace.
Second
track – LA BREA BOREALIS – see the band opt for a more
experimental psychedelic feel with heavy riffs and distorted vocals
being the main focus. The instrumental work is superb yet again with
the band creating heavy progressive sludge based riffs. This is
perhaps my fave song on the album as it shows you the many different
identities of the band.
The
final two tracks – KOSMOCERATOPS and AQUALIBRIUM – follow the
same crazy route as the opening two tracks with AQUALIBRIUM being
another standout track on the album. The final two songs perhaps
contain the heaviest sounds on the album though the experimentation
can be slightly tiring at times.
Hallucinogenesis may not be the easiest album that Lesbian has released but you can’t
deny how powerfully exciting Hallucinogenesis actually is.
Hallucinogenesis is perhaps one of the most stunning and complex
extreme metal albums released this year.
Words
by Steve Howe
Hallucinogenesis is available to buy on CD/DD now. Vinyl won't be available until
November 2016 though you can pre-order it now through Translation Loss Records.
