Dense and destructive yet also delicate and delightful, Disconnected Souls’ very own Demanufacture is almost upon us but make no mistake, when we compare Fragments Of Consciousness to the legendary FF record, we mean in terms of its’ groundbreaking/genre-bending/all encompassing work of Heavy Art. Which is definitely what the newest from the UK quintet is.
From the moment Patrick Lloyd’s bark descends upon opener “Delirium” and its’ five and a half minutes of complicated bombast straight through to the whimsical Dance Dance Revolution instrumental “Iyashikei” (Which, we imagine, is a delight for a band built of a collective programming prowess), it should be fairly obviously that the term “Metal” is destined to take a few twists and turns throughout the course of Disconnected Souls’ latest.
In between fans get a sonic smorgasbord of Cinematic Metal that incorporates Techno, Cabaret, and Symphonic elements under an air of overall heaviness for an all around eclectic and definitely well-rounded aural journey which also infuses bits of Apartment 26 (Remember them?), Dresden Dolls, and Within Temptation into the mix.
“Dissonant Whispers” immediately goes to the opposite end of the spectrum from “Delerium” with a an almost monolithic stoicism as it lumbers along like a Titan and Holly Royle flexes those clean vocal chops to offset Lloyd’s scream with “Plague Rats” going for the jugular next with a vicious synthetic stomp amidst crunching riffs from Royle and Matthew Simon Fletcher. “Symbiont” is menacing, haunting even, with ethereal voices swirling around Lloyd’s tempered intro before an onslaught of programmed pummeling, a flurry of riffs, and a bevy of vocal ranges are hurled at your earholes while “Kintsukuroi” almost serving as the comedown but still managing to display the plethora of styles that DS has control of within this shining epic.
“Human Error” is an eerie Electro number that’s more The Exorcist than Eisbrecher and “Loveless” is just fascinating with Felix Luca King and Tim Jenkins’ synths really putting in the work for this blistering beats-infested dissected Pop stunner. Deeper within, “Fragments” begins the ease in towards the inevitable end creating a whole new movement alongside the songs that follow with this song in particular echoing Shriekback as the vocal harmonies between King, Royle, and Lloyd intertwine and glisten amidst an underlying heaviness from Fletch’s guitar swimming below the surface like a shark waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Penultimate track “Monachopsis (A Waltz at the End of the World)” continues the vocal focus with the collected singers providing an array of spirited voices on this macabre carnival ride before the aforementioned “Iyashikei” cuts in for that final dance.
Fragments Of Consciousness arrives on January 19th. You can pre-save your copy now by heading here or pre-order the digital version here and then head further down along the information superhighway and click here for the newly redesigned Disconnected Souls official website where you’ll get all the latest news, links to their socials, and more!
One Response
Thank you so very much! This means the world to us all <3