Dischordia
Thanatopsis
(Rogue Records America)
Somewhere out there in the odd sky frame of Oklahoma’s surreal unnaturalness, OKC death metal frequenters Dischordia adapted their tale as a futuristic western. Metallic and progressive, the band scoots through parallels of form on the reg, frequently delivering actual real and visionary passages. And it repeatedly comes out of nowhere, and feels true and positive. The band’s newest record Thanatopsis, follows a narrative in that style: individual, giftedly random, and sacred: three musicians in step with one another, stretching and being.
Dischordia can wrap you up snug in twisting coils of technical abstraction, then decide to groove the shit out of you, in an industrial and pinpoint way. Their motto is change, frequent and cohesive. Thanatopsis delivers in abundance, the patterns that equate towards a dualistic tale: one of prologue, and one of technical mastery. The two stories levitate around the humans that created them, a swirling rigidity.
Once you’ve reached “Bone Hive”, the seventh track, you’ve not only converted your time, you’ve become deeply invested in it. You dig, you jive, you swarm. The bass work of vocalist Josh Turner is perhaps the most singular and necessary agent of cohesion for the band; the trio coalesces around the chugs and nimble fretwork of his adaptation. Guitarist Keeno multiplies the sound like a jazz wizard, doubling, layering, and extending; while drummer Josh Fallin is a virtuoso, an understudy of some dark mathematical beat maker.
Thanatopsis is that rare album that actually improves with each track continuously, without ever looking back. With each number a greater workout, a greater output, and a more focused wholeness. Much like the classic western, it has pockets of beauty, sheer devastation, and an overall tendency for exact space. In the skies of Oklahoma things fall magically into Dischordia’s minds: mixing humans and technology as if from afar, a tale of the future. “The Traveler”, the last track, is pure ascension, all jazzed up, super progressive and breezy, like dusty space-boots in the desert wind. This trio is the real deal, and their new album develops your taste, and you love it for that.
