Hyphenated Virtuosity
This album I've been
aching to review for a long time. Princ Persii, a now-defunct Saint
Petersburg band, took shape after the dissolution of a screamo
project sometime in 2010, played a few shows, quietly plopped out a
self-titled 25-minute digital release, and promptly disappeared
again. Their members are unknown, their internet footprint is a
negligible blip on Russian social media, and non-existent in the
west; not counting a limited cassette release earlier this year, no
labels have ever been in touch with the band. What I'm trying to
convey here is that the public eye/ear hasn't been very kind to Princ
Persii, and I fear their contribution to the so far predominantly
western post-black scene has not yet and will not for a long time
receive the acclaim it deserves.
That is a massive
shame, because Princ Persii has created a unique, invigorating piece
of work here. The sludgy guitar texture and pummeling, low-end riffs
characteristic of post-metal – think Omega Massif – are melted
down and poured in a mid-paced post-black mould, imbued with
crusty/post- hardcore rage redolent of Ancst and tempered in a
shower of mournful atmospheric flourishes. You would think a style
requiring so many hyphenated subgenres to describe would sound either
inordinately contrived or wholly untethered, but by virtue of Princ
Persii's meticulous craftsmanship it's kept solid, concise and
riff-centric all the way through.
Out of the murk that
is “L” – a dark ambient piece with what I'm assuming is a
female spoken-word sample from a Russian-dubbed film – a despondent
bass guitar arises, etching out “IX”'s simple but hooky main
riff, which is then engulfed by the twin guitar surge – rhythm
and lead guitars bifurcating
in palm-muted chugs and
gritty, soaring highs and
reuniting
again to
deliver the key
chords. Over the
course of two minutes this chord sequence is repeated, tweaked,
broken up and filled in, until it collapses in a morose, vocal-driven
dirge – never just milling about but always determinedly moving
forward, aided by the excellent percussion, which is crisp and has a
knack for finding gaps in the rest of the instrumentation to caulk
with fills.
While “C” and
“F” are more simple, subtle ambient synth pieces – interludes
without the ambition or need to be more than that – “II”, “I”
and “VIII” tread in IX's footsteps; “II” with less focus on
The Big Riff and more on song dynamics – fury and melancholy, hold
and release, short bursts of intensity followed by protracted swathes
of dark alluvium – while “I” takes this post-rock quiet-LOUD
philosophy to its logical end and seamlessly alternates between
frenetic episodes of high-speed battering and introspective, clean
noodling. It's also on “I” that the vocals – like a less
constricted, more slavic relative of Altar of Plagues's rasps –
shine the brightest, furiously exhorting and punctuating the guitars
and occasionally breaking to reveal the human beneath.
Marks are detracted
for the marginally less interesting closer “VIII” – which, in
its atmospheric-intro-into-blasting bipolarity, stands out against
the dynamic songwriting prevalent in the other songs –, but
otherwise Princ Persii is a stellar achievement, exuding a
confidence and self-knowledge seldom witnessed in bands so young and
underground. The mix helps with this, every instrument getting equal
room and utilizing this to the fullest, and while the lower end of
the percussive spectrum may occasionally get buried in the action,
these blurry teeth do not significantly detract from the engrossing
wonder that is following how the fine cogwheels of Princ Persii's
watch interlock and swivel. Sound-wise, comparisons can be made to
the earlier-mentioned Altar of Plagues and the Czech ██████,
but with interesting stuff happening all the
time, which immediately brings Vattnet Viskar's
self-titled EP to mind: both bands opt for conciseness and heaviness
over the atmospheric vistas characteristic of the genre, and manage
to convey this with not just aggression but also sophistication.
If metal with any
post-elements appeals to you, do your duty and give Princ Persii a
chance.
90%
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