Pulsar Colony
Cosmic Manifestations
(Razed Soul Productions)
After Palantir’s Matt Friend left from drum duties on the band’s previous album Equilibrium Zone, Charles Sabo decided to go back to programming the drums as he had done on the band’s previous record. Problem is, I’m having a lot of trouble with the drum programming this time around and perhaps it’s time for Sabo to upgrade to another program as I’ve heard several tremendous drum programming efforts by other bands that don’t even sound as close to as thin as this. Though his riff melodies are still mindboggling and otherworldly as always, the sheer fact that the drums sound tinny makes the whole effort seem flat to me. Vocally, Sabo’s scowls seem to hit the mark just perfectly, and even though the length of some of these tracks can cause them to sound a bit monotonous, he does manage to evolve the music through slight atmospheres and effects. There’s definitely evolution here, but it needs a bit more structure and I feel that other reviewers will agree with that. The strongest song that I heard on the release was actually something very different entitled “The Dimensional Wolf Of The Ginnugagap Singularity” in which a sort of spoken vocal style takes precedence as well as a lighter approach to the band’s traditional avantgarde playing style. As much as I’ve always liked Pulsar Colony’s work, I think that Cosmic Manifestations begins to show that Sabo is approaching a wall and in order to ascend over that wall, he may need to amend his approach in a new and far different way than we’ve have heard from these previous efforts. I believe that some retooling might be necessary, so that the fifth record really comes across as something unexpected and astronomical. The real problem with Cosmic Manifestations is not that it isn’t played well, but rather that it doesn’t really bring anything new to the table. There are slight evolutions, but never enough to show transcendence from the artist, a valuable death and rebirth process that is needed to happen in order for a new horizon to be reached. Pulsar Colony still offers black metal in a way that few have ever experienced and it’s certain that if you’re new to the act, you’ll be quite intrigued. Though if you’ve heard all of the band’s previous material, then this record will have a tough time grabbing your attention. There’s still something to be found within these manifestations, but I think a little more DMT might help to further benefit the process. (Eric May)
Purchase Cosmic Manifestations here.
