Technical black metal composed by a human, played by physical robots. In 2018 Satyra was diagnosed with Lyme disease and quickly became unable to play instruments anymore. Instead of giving up, they spent the next two years slowly building robots to play instruments for them.
The result is Electromancy, the robot metal band. Guitars and drums are played by Satyra’s own DIY robotic designs; their bandmates are manikins, cut up into LED-fuelled light shows. Electromancy will release their debut album, Technopagan, on January 14 through Metal Assault Records.
Watch the video for the album’s latest single “You Cannot Live Forever” below:
In April 2020, Electromancy released their debut EP Robot Black Metal. Satyra’s music is technical black metal, mixing black metal with bits of death metal, experimentalism, and technical composition. The robots aren’t a gimmick, they are core to the sound, allowing textures, patterns, and compositions that are not natural to and sometimes not possible for a human musician. Some of these compositional eccentricities include phasing multiple rhythmic melodies on a single instrument and simply extremely fast and chaotic composition.
In addition to the robots, Satyra fills the bass frequencies with a drone horn made from a modified PVC pipe (the resulting instrument is similar to but not quite the same as a didgeridoo). This full, enveloping bass sound creates a grounded floor for the otherwise chaotic music. More than half of this album was painstakingly composed by foot during periods where Satyra’s illness made their hands unusable.
Electromancy’s lyrical themes largely revolve around Satyra’s struggle with a physical disability, the uncertainty of their lifespan with chronic illness, and the spiritual experiences brought on from facing human fragility & mortality so directly (often with surprisingly uplifting conclusions). These musical themes, paired with the robotic instrumentation and the story of why this all came to be, generates a profoundly raw and unique experience.
On the track’s release, Satyra states:
“To me, this track is less about physical mortality per se and more about embracing the change that life requires of us again and again. Grief, trauma, and even moments of incredible positivity and support require us to become different people, and to step into that role we must shed the skin of who we were before, let that earlier self die.
Much of my upcoming album Technopagan is about my struggles with disability and chronic illness over the last years. My battle with Lyme disease has demanded so much change from me, and despite the ongoing hardships, I feel like such a bigger fuller person from the experience. If I fought the changes instead of embracing them I’m not sure I would feel the same way. Through experiences big and small, we all have to change. The you that exists now cannot live forever.”
Pre-order Technopagan here.
Follow Electromancy on Facebook.
