Emptiness - Not For Music review
| Band: | Emptiness |
| Album: | Not For Music |
| Style: | Darkwave, Avantgarde metal |
| Release date: | January 20, 2017 |
| A review by: | Auntie Sahar |
01. Meat Heart
02. It Might Be
03. Circle Girl
04. Your Skin Won't Hide You
05. Digging The Sky
06. Ever
07. Let It Fall
In 2014, the Belgians in Emptiness threw out Nothing But The Whole, a thundering album of black and death metal that combined the two quite seamlessly, with a delicious sense of atmosphere to boot. Being almost universally praised in underground metal circles, how exactly does the band follow up such a powerhouse release? Easy: by going for something different.
For Emptiness, Not For Music is a significant shift into new territory, essentially being what happens when some of the slower, more atmospheric moments from Nothing But The Whole (especially on Lowland) are expanded upon into a full fledged album. Here Emptiness have gone much, much deeper with this aspect of their sound, resulting in music that can be a bit puzzling, and difficult to pinpoint with an exact label. The sound feels quite deconstructed and airy, mostly via the guitar tone, not seeming to be driven by riffs but more by a sort of distorted, dissonant harmony. A black metal influence can also be detected, albeit in a very subtle form, serving more as an embellishment upon the minimalistic, spacious nature of the sound than anything else.
This new approach comes in varying degrees of success. For the most part it comes across as quite immersive, stimulating, and interesting, particularly with regard to the increased bass role ("It Might Be"), moments of unexpected catchiness ("Your Skin Won't Hide You," "Ever"), and a wide use of mysterious, whisper-like vocals ("Digging The Sky"). At other moments, the "deconstructed" feeling of this new approach can make things appear either too formless to really get into ("Circle Girl") or as though too many techniques were combined at once, as on the chaotic and unfortunately weak closer "Let It Fall." Thankfully, however, although it could use some refining, there are many more moments in the former group on Not For Music than in the latter, making the few upsets appear rather minor when the album is considered as a whole.
For those who wished to see the more "epic" moments from Nothing But The Whole taken to the proverbial "next level," Not For Music will probably be a quite enjoyable and rewarding listening experience. It is not a banger by any means, and abandons much of the ferocity the band employed previously in favor of exploring mood and ambiance. Here Emptiness certainly could have continued in the vein of their landmark album, and cranked out more banging tunes, but they didn't. They threw a major curve ball instead. And whether one enjoys that curve ball or not, I think the band should at the very least be applauded for their clear devotion to artistic evolution, written in bold letters all across this album.
New recipe, new rules, new taste.
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 8 |
| Songwriting: | 7 |
| Originality: | 9 |
| Production: | 8 |
Written by Auntie Sahar | 24.01.2017
Comments
Comments: 22
Visited by: 249 users
| mz Account deleted |
|
| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite Posts: 40071  |
Written by [user id=110592] on 24.01.2017 at 16:45 Nope, I agree with Che that the album relies a lot more on ambiance and a lot less on riffs. Okay, some riffs are employed but by far not as much as on Nothing But The Whole. The album also clearly steers away from metal and explores more territories of darkwave and such.
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996 
Loading...
|
| Auntie Sahar Drone Empress Posts: 5989  |
Written by [user id=110592] on 24.01.2017 at 16:45 Not really, I mean there are a few main riffs and melodies shown a little on It Might Be, and especially on Your Skin Won't Hide you, but other than that the approach variates a lot and for the most part I would say it's a lot more structure-less than NBTW. It's centered more around exploring tonal quality and an almost free form style. Nothing from this album is really like this anymore, for example.
---- I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. “Come unto me” is a foolish word: for it is I that go. ~ II. VII
Loading...
|
| Auntie Sahar Drone Empress Posts: 5989 |
Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 24.01.2017 at 16:52 Yeah I'm not really sure you can even call it metal anymore, although it certainly does still have a few heavy moments and that underlying BM influence I mentioned is still there. But darkwave influence for sure, and I've seen reviews elsewhere mentioning it sounds kind of post punk-ish at points too (not too familiar with that though, so can't really comment there).
---- I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. “Come unto me” is a foolish word: for it is I that go. ~ II. VII
Loading...
|
| barnesy Posts: 133  |
Loading...
|
| flightoficarus Stamp Tramp Posts: 1118  |
You're high. This is a masterpiece. To each his own though.
---- Daily underground metal recommendations at Metal Trenches. Watch metal content on the Metal Trenches YouTube Channel.
Loading...
|
| Auntie Sahar Drone Empress Posts: 5989 |
Written by flightoficarus on 25.01.2017 at 07:32 It's not like I gave it a 5 dude 
---- I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. “Come unto me” is a foolish word: for it is I that go. ~ II. VII
Loading...
|
| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite Posts: 40071 |
Written by Auntie Sahar on 25.01.2017 at 13:37 But you gave it an 8 on average and you know what that means to MSers... that you think it is crap
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996
Loading...
|
| InnerSelf proofread free Posts: 2701  |
Quote: I like how you always seem to describe the essence of an album in one sentence. I'm on the side of people highly enjoying it, not for the same reasons I enjoyed Nothing But the Whole, but I'm equally impressed by it. It seems to give me some Virus vibes at times, in how the whole thing feels unsettling yet really really catchy. The replay value for the album is pretty high as well.
---- He who is not bold enough to be stared at from across the abyss is not bold enough to stare into it himself.
Loading...
|
| Auntie Sahar Drone Empress Posts: 5989 |
Written by InnerSelf on 25.01.2017 at 14:08 Thanks a lot man!  I can see the VIrus comparison, not in sound necessarily, but like you said, in how it's very odd yet very memorable as well. Not many bands can do that, which is another reason for admiration here. It's also very relaxing at times, I actually put it on that "2017 Incantations" list of mine the other night. Might seem like an odd pick for it but after multiple plays I find myself often just falling back in this and getting that "lazy floating" feeling quite a lot.
---- I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. “Come unto me” is a foolish word: for it is I that go. ~ II. VII
Loading...
|
| mz Account deleted |
|
| angelofbland Posts: 20 |
|
| Auntie Sahar Drone Empress Posts: 5989 |
Written by [user id=110592] on 25.01.2017 at 20:37 It's interesting how peoples' tastes variate, I too really love the first two tracks here, but Digging The Sky is probably my favorite. Meanwhile, you might consider that to be one of the "fillers" you mentioned 
---- I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. “Come unto me” is a foolish word: for it is I that go. ~ II. VII
Loading...
|
| flightoficarus Stamp Tramp Posts: 1118 |
Written by Auntie Sahar on 25.01.2017 at 13:37 lol I know, but even thinking of this album as just "average" or "good" for me personally is heresy. Especially considering the review right before this one gives Avenged Sevenfold an 8. Whaaaaa?
---- Daily underground metal recommendations at Metal Trenches. Watch metal content on the Metal Trenches YouTube Channel.
Loading...
|
| Auntie Sahar Drone Empress Posts: 5989 |
Written by flightoficarus on 26.01.2017 at 20:46 I claim no responsibility on that one
---- I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. “Come unto me” is a foolish word: for it is I that go. ~ II. VII
Loading...
|
| metalwolf Posts: 107  |
Somehow it made me think of Wolves in the Throne Room...
---- ---------------------------------------------------------- Cthulhu for President! Why settle for the lesser evil?
Loading...
|
| BitterCOld The Ancient One Admin Posts: 15301  |
Written by Auntie Sahar on 24.01.2017 at 18:25 Feeling a bit of this on first (sleep-deprived) listen through. enjoyed it, but has moved a nice big side-step away from \m/ ... nice work on the words.
---- get the fuck off my lawn. Beer Bug Virus Spotify Playlist crafted by Nikarg and I. Feel free to tune in and add some pertinent metal tunes!
Loading...
|
| nikarg Staff Posts: 7508  |
Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 25.01.2017 at 13:44 Maybe the reason is that there are reviewers who "discover" a "masterpiece" and give it a 9 nearly every week, so a 7.5 is considered crap. Anyway, great review this one (as always by Apothecary, even when our tastes don't match) and exactly the score I'd give (but I can't, so I'll need more time to decide if it's a 7 or 8). I was listening to it yesterday driving through snowy landscapes around dusk and I have to say it was a very nice soundtrack.
Loading...
|
| tea[m]ster Au Pays Natal Contributor Posts: 5266  |
Che - wtf am I listening to? I'm on track 3 as I write this. So far I here electronics, atmospheric "metal" and an overall "old-school" vibe. This is as avantgarde as I get. But for some reason I dig it. The reason? You nailed it: the guitar tone/texture. Excellent review and thanks.
---- rekt
Loading...
|
| Auntie Sahar Drone Empress Posts: 5989 |
Written by tea[m]ster on 30.01.2017 at 23:53 Glad you're enjoying it man. I wouldn't necessarily call it Avant-garde, but it definitely is "different," for sure, and highly enjoyable at that. And yes, that guitar tone! Really curious as to what sort of pedals/effects they're using there, as I haven't really haven't heard such a sound anywhere else before, and if I have I can't remember where from off the top of my head
---- I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. “Come unto me” is a foolish word: for it is I that go. ~ II. VII
Loading...
|
| Desert Father Posts: 144  |
This really reminds me of Blut Aus Nord's TEoAM.
---- "Truly, my child, if I were allowed to see my sins, three or four men would not be enough to weep for them." - Abba Dioscorus
Loading...
|
| Auntie Sahar Drone Empress Posts: 5989 |
Written by Desert Father on 06.02.2017 at 04:39 I wouldn't say so, that one's a lot darker and industrialized, while this one is more airy, bright, and almost uplifting at points as well. I get the similarity you draw though, in that both albums seem to explore tonal quality itself over melody and traditional structure.
---- I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. “Come unto me” is a foolish word: for it is I that go. ~ II. VII
Loading...
|
Hits total: 6791 | This month: 11