MMMΔ – namely, Nikos Veliotis and Ilios – are still able to persuade us that playing the part of dark drone knights for sub-existential parallels is their thing, and theirs alone. Although the duo does not specifically list all sources, the sonic conglomeration they produce comes from self-built instruments and mysterious softwares, in addition to violin, oscillators and ritual chanting, when the occasion requires. The music’s massive stratifications and thumping pacing actually conceal a number of subtle compositional details that go far beyond basic “doom” in its harmonic and rhythmic (relative) simplicity. As the old adage says, it’s not stuff for the faint-hearted.
With rare pauses for reflection, the four segments of Sidiroun Parapetasma seem to issue incontrovertible sentences for the future of a humanity now in complete disarray. No room for sunny skies or groovy tunes; only the time, sometimes studied with cinematic slowness, to collect the ultimate analysis of one’s own terrene experience – with no regrets whatsoever – and place its elements, with cynically rational logic, at the center of a vision that does not necessarily consider our presence in transformed or, as people fill their mouths with nowadays, “evolved” form. With its toxic melancholy, the final track “Iron Curtain” (which is the English translation of the album’s title) serves as the ideal tombstone for any socially beneficial endeavor the common man may have had in mind. Observations are made, notes are taken, conclusions are drawn that leave no possibility for things to go back to normal. And once more, low frequencies and ominous chord progressions establish the rules for survival, if one’s really interested to persevere in today’s putrescent environment.
MASSIMO RICCI. TOUCHING EXTREMES. 