______ _______ _______ ______ _____ _______
| __ \ | | | | __ \ |_| ___|
| < | | | __ < | ___| proudly presents...
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............................................................................
Artist...... Next Life
Album....... Guru Meditation
Label....... Fysisk Format
Genre....... Industrial
Releasedate 2020-08-21
Encoder.....
Bitrate..... 320kbps
Size........ 67.74 mb
Duration.... 27:03
WWW......... http://play.google.com (full url below)
.Tracklist .................................................................
01 Guru Meditation [ 1:16]
02 The Beyond Perception [ 2:07]
03 Prophecy Come True [ 1:34]
04 Alive [ 1:54]
05 Strength I [ 3:03]
06 Part Human [ 1:20]
07 Astral Emenation [ 1:09]
08 Infinite Karmic Repetition [ 1:38]
09 Dexterity II [ 3:12]
10 Apocalypse 19 [ 1:49]
11 Slow Dive [ 2:16]
12 Eternal Twilight [ 1:59]
13 Intelligence III [ 3:46]
.Releasenotes ..............................................................
https://play.google.com/store/music/album/Next_Life_Guru_Meditation?id=B556ys
6xsrfz226pguaem7rrqbm
So many questions. So few answers. Who decided mathcore, industrial and grind
needed to be matched up with chiptune? Where did that idea even come from?
Who was this made for? The answers, I believe, are, respectively: Next Life
did; who the fuck knows; and me, probably. I love genre mashups, and if
chiptune is even remotely involved, I go to there with haste. Going to here
in particular revealed that instrumental Dorito-dusters Next Life, hailing
from T°nsberg, Norway, launched way back in Æ99, immediately extinguishing
the concept that chiptune-metal mixtures are a recent trend. Now itÆs 2020
and Guru Meditation, the doubletÆs fourth full-length, is upon us at last.
ItÆs a good thing Next Life deal in instrumental music, because Guru
Meditation has a lot going on without overburdening itself with vocals.
Chippy melodies bring on the nostalgia of a time spent playing PokΘmon
Red/Blue/Yellow and envying those who played Metroid while I sat at home
without any idea what that was. Anders HangσrdÆs drums slap you silly with
chaotic blasts and overpowered final smashes, while the guitars cut
everything up with razor sharp slices. Pretention, neoclassical noodling and
fancy experiments find no home here, and the groupÆs chipped visage bears
little resemblance to other acts like Master Boot Record. However, as you dig
deep into these 8-bit constructs, details bloom into view and further avenues
of exploration unlock.
Perhaps more important than how the album sounds, Next Life show considerable
songwriting evolution on Guru Meditation. ôThe Beyond Perceptionö integrates
twinkling beeps and chirps as counterpoint to direct and abrasive metal.
Chipped leads drive everything just as they did on, for example, 2009Æs The
Lost Age, but attitudes and textures alter more flexibly at the whims of
scathing guitars and penetrating snare hits, evidenced by the battling
ôProphecy Come Trueö and ôPart Human.ö Thankfully, main man Hai Nguyen Dinh
had the foresight to break up his vicious Steel-type attacks with more
relaxed but ominous chip-only tracks (ôStrength I,ö ôInfinite Karmic
Repetition,ö ôDexterity II,ö and ôIntelligence III,ö in that order) which
allow players to gain restùbut not too much rest, of course. Outside of the
highlight reel, Guru Meditation possesses the quality of a fully realized
concept, with a clear progression of story, marking the most noticeableùand
appreciatedùevolution between Next Life now versus past Next Life.
For everything that makes Guru Meditation a super cool and interesting
listen, there remains bits of soldering that donÆt quite adhere, holding the
album back from my regular rotation. ôAliveö contains some proggy structures
that IÆd enjoy hearing on future records, but it doesnÆt contribute anything
to the whole here, save for an interesting bass tone. ôAstral Emenationö is
fun, but the drums overpower everything like constant firecracker explosions,
wearing me down in short order. Despite its tight runtime, ôSlow Diveö makes
a weak argument save for one cool melody in the back half, as it provides no
resolution for what came before and no anticipation for what follows. Lastly,
ôEternal Twilightö lacks purpose, offering plenty of nostalgic feeling for
the countless hours I spent playing Rush 2, but nothing more.
ThereÆs plenty to love about what Next Life created on Guru Meditation. But
thereÆs also room for improvement. Levels feel incomplete despite the fact
that the album represents their most fleshed out and worthwhile effort to
date. I also highly recommend revisiting the mixing for the drums, as they
often distract from rather than benefit the music which lies cowering behind
them. Aside from those glitches, I enjoyed damn near everything about Guru
Meditation, from the charming melodies to the intense mathy-grindy riffs to
the smart song organization. All the pieces are here for Next Life to deliver
a genre-defining work of digital art. This might not be it, but I still think
itÆs worth hearing, at least twice.
............................................................................
LET'S GET READY TO RUMBLEEEEE!