An album release from 16PRISM brings out a cross between classic industrial and cold wave and a new approach as well so the record comes through feeling nostalgic for those of us who grew up listening to Skinny Puppy or KMFDM, even NIN but also has a different layer of edginess and vastness to it soundscape that it's hard.
The Informis Regnat album is riddled with this harsh but lush soundscape with synth tones and sounds that are perfectly chosen and utilized to bring on an atmosphere that wraps itself around you and lets you just get engulfed in the whole thing.
A lot of the tracks on this release have a strange way of interconnecting it would seem so it almost feels like it's a concept album of sorts although I can't be positive about that. It certainly feels like it to me and this is the type of album that even if that's wrong, you want to listen to this record as a whole from beginning to end because if you only listen to one or two tracks, you're definitely missing out on the full spectrum of what it has to offer.
The way all the instrumentation and arrangement fall together is outstanding and these guys definitely pay a lot of attention to detail during the creation process, but it still has this sort of character that it embodies, and this is part of why you get so attached to it in the first place.
This character and sort of persona sticks throughout the record and so you get these aggressive but tone-rich tracks that hit like a sucker punch to the gut but are so intriguing in alluring as well that you have to go on listening.
The album is full of surprises around the corners and just brilliant use of keys and synths, beats, and the straight-up ability to bend genres at different parts of different songs which I find amazing.
Some of the synth pads and sounds that are pulled together through the record at times even give it an orchestrated feel and that comes through anthemic and impactful a lot of the time while you still have this almost distorted and gritty underbelly that is always there bringing that edginess to the table every time.
The vocals are fierce and haunting at times which falls right into the whole aesthetic of this record perfectly, but they are definitely bringing these different elements to the table in terms of the genres as I mentioned earlier.
There's a lot of electronica involved and a sort of gothic undertone as well.
I absolutely love this record because again, it brings this nostalgic feel for me as I am a person who did grow up listening to a good amount of industrial music and even going to see shows from some of the bands I mentioned earlier and I can tell you right now that 16PRISM Nails the whole feel while bringing a freshness as well and that's pretty unique if you ask me.
This is an ode to those kinds of bands and a love letter to their influences and this is something I can actually hear in the music itself.
As far as I could tell the group consists of just two people who collaborate. One being a composer and the other being a lyricist.
This is in my opinion a brilliant collaboration between these two and I'm glad that they found each other because I will certainly be keeping an eye out for whatever else this duo has to offer in the near future.
This is for those people that love industrial music with their heart and soul because this release embodies all of that damn near perfectly.
Check this record out and again, listen to the whole thing not just a few songs, and turn it nice and loud.
Remember where you heard it first.
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