Still in a different division in the extreme sounds championship, Frenchman ALUK TODOLO come back this year with Occult Rock’s successor – “Voix”.
If you felt blown away by the previous, stick around because this one won’t disappoint you. With every track passing beyond five minutes, one can instantaneously imagine how impossible it gets to stay calm in every single song. From quiet melodies played under an almost southern guitar to chaotic movements involving guitar dissonances and extreme feedback, the anxiety will take over you during the 43 minutes of “Voix”. Speaking of minutes, a curious way to name the six songs was chosen by naming it simply with each one length.
The frenetic and insanely repetitive drums of the second song will drive your mind into a state of nerves difficult to be stopped. But ALUK TODOLO’s work is more than speed or stamina. Their songs include different textures comprising also a more melodic, slow tempo side. One that will balance you while expecting for what’s coming next.
And that’s why you may find in the second or even in the third track enough place to decide in which side of the equation you’ll put yourself. Have you made your mind yet? We did. We choose chaos. An everlasting struggle to reach outside air; a fight to put your head out from the ground and breed. But as you’ll see in the third track it won’t be an easy task, because these Frenchman keep pushing further and further, as in the moments where the drums seem to be part of a schizophrenic jam session. Some innovations are also noticed, such as a passage of heavier, electric bass, like approaching a more modern black metal essay in the third track.
If you’ve had the pleasure of seeing this guys live you’ll quickly understand why this effort is so vibrant. In fact there are no breaks between the songs, as if the whole record was played at once, giving you a close stage perspective.
The guitar fuzz keeps going in the fourth song, pushing the delay and feedback to a more acute tone, almost entering industrial fields, always in an experiencing mode that could blow your mind out. A distorted labyrinth.
It’s not as magnanimous as its predecessor, but “Voix”doesn’t disappoint. If we were to classify this album in terms of filmmaking genres it would definitely be a thriller. A rather nervous one.
7,5/10
