Downfall of Gaia

Downfall of Gaia

Ethic of Radical Finitude

Metal Blade Records

Release: 8 February 2019

The duality of the album is very appealing to those listeners that would be willing to allow themselves the pleasure to see what happens when the music goes from grim blasting speed to slower melancholic-melodic moods. The band has dedicated a serious effort to making both sides of the coin be good quality. The fast side has good, subtle melodies that make the music remarkably pleasant. With today’s technology it is possible to have frenzied speeds of grimness, as is often the case here, but make it all sound professional (not homemade/garage recording) and smooth, while retaining the hyper speeds. Sometimes the tremolo picking reworks and elaborates a repeating pattern and make it seem almost hypnotic. The melodies, of course, help to frame the extremity in ways that are surprisingly amenable.

Perhaps a relatively accurate way to get to the melancholic-mellow-melodic side of this album is to say that overriding trait of the music is the continuous, persistent and constant use of notes that evoke various forms of sadness. Once you sign on the dotted line and you say that you do want to dedicate the time to the album, that you want to ride it out and go with it and see where it takes you, then you find the joy in that journey.

It is an ambitious album that works anywhere from melancholy to headbanging moments. It is as if the band were using the principle that an instrument like the guitar can yield music that shares commonalities with an instrument like the piano or cello: the mellow, even relaxing feel, the pensive mood, the somber vibes. The album is 40 minutes long. That’s long enough to present a good, serious challenge, while still maintaining the joy of discovery, and also instigating repeated listens of this gem.

downfallofgaia.bandcamp.com/album/ethic-of-radical-finitude