NIBIRU’s new release, “Anamorphosis,” is a sonic journey through the void, a 55-minute psychedelic, ritualistic, drone / (partially) blackened sludge expedition into the core of being. An intoxicating and captivating album draws the listener and holds them transfixed for the duration of its span by the Italian trio.
The album has a single-track structure that disrupts common expectations regarding songwriting and immerses listeners in an unending auditory space. “Anamorphosis” proceeds like a shadowy occult rite, where the lines between musicians fade into a single mass of sonorous ambiance, rhythmic incantations, and tortured guitar strains.
The ritualistic nature of the music is at once revealed by eerie chants and cryptic whispering that creates a strange realm from which the upcoming sonic ritual will emanate. Using nontraditional sounds creates a feeling of eeriness that makes everything become quite a ritual.
It is sometimes driven by twisted guitars with torrents of sludgy riffs flowing like the black sea. An incessant hypnotic approach to the guitar work will take you into the trance. The tonal incongruence and intentional lack of finality result in a hauntingly ambiguous sound world that continually changes and morphs.
Percussion is important as part of the ritualistic nature of the music and has a primal rhythm. It vibrates in a nearly tribal frenzy, strengthening the ritualistic tone and forming the basis of the cacophonous sonorities surrounding it. As a shamanic guide, the drums direct the listener in traversing the changing pattern of the composition.
Production quality is worth mentioning as well since it is rich and gloomy enough to augment the general atmospheric wealth of the album. Reverb and echo are used with intent throughout the album to create a feeling of large spaces that the music is resounding in – like some ancient chambers or magical places.
“Anamorphosis” is an intellectually challenging album that has to be heard with an open mind and undivided attention to grasp its subtleties. Without clear-cut breaks in the track, the audience is compelled to acquiesce to the unrelenting current of sound that permits the album to engulf them with an audible tidal wave. The fact that NIBIRU manages to sustain tension and interest for such a long time period makes it an extremely intense and reflective type of experience.
Summing up, “Anamorphosis” by the artist NIBIRU is beyond generic classification. The journey is a captivating one owing to its fusion of ritualistic features with drone, psychedelic, sludge that dives a listener deep down into the world of sonic experimentation. “Anamorphosis” is a dark and mysterious gateway into an esoteric musical journey for the brave at heart. DOOM!
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Released by ARGONAUTA Records on May 26th, 2023
Music source for review – Grand Sounds PR
