Regular D.U. readers might recognize the name Colin Marston from the Krallice interview we ran not too long ago. He also appeared in our Gorguts interview. Colin plays multiple instruments and in multiple bands and also produces records at his own studio in New York. But right now we’re bringing him up because, at the last Dysrhythmia show we saw him perform at, he shoved three of his bands’ CDs in our hand, and we’re reviewing them all (better late than never): Dysrhythmia, Behold… The Arctopus, and Krallice.
There are a few well-known instrumental (no vocals) bands in the metal scene, or the progressive music scene, like Russian Circles and Pelican, but Dysrhythmia must be one of the best. Colin plays the six-string bass in Dysrhythmia, and he also produced their album Test of Submission, released by Profound Lore. Test of Submission travels to exotic places, and is metal as well as progressive. It’s also crushing in other places. The layering of effects and the way these three guys put together their songs are their own, and part of the reason why this record never gets dull. Even the blast beats from the drummer sound like they can only come from Dysrhythmia. As with all three bands from Colin, one has to be able to play one’s instrument to be able to pull of this music.
Horrorscension from Behold… The Arctopus is another instrumental record, and is quite a lot to take in. Colin plays something called the Warr guitar in this instrumental band, and it’s quite a sight when seeing him play it live. The six-track record might remind one of Naked City because of its energy and wild abandon. The record sounds crazy (except when they dial it back in the second half of “Monolithic Distractions”) but is totally controlled. The guys pile on the riffs that go in different directions and dare you to keep track. Dysrhythmia layers riffs too, but more for a mood, while Behold… The Arctopus has more of an attitude. They don’t provide a lot of information in the CD sleeve, not even contact info, and they gave the songwriting credit for the track “Putrefucktion” to Your Mom. Find this self-released record (that Colin produced) and other Behold.. The Arctopus merch at the band’s website.
Krallice is the one band out of these three that has lyrics (the bassist and one of the guitarists trade off sparse vocals), and Colin plays a plain old guitar in this band, but don’t go off thinking this is a normal group. Krallice provides even less information in the sleeve of the album Years Past Matter than Behold… The Arctopus did. It’s like, “You want song titles and band info? What are you, a poser? Go fuck yourself.” Krallice is a black metal band, and like the late, great Ludicra, doesn’t wear makeup or black leather and spikes. The band flattens the listener with blast beats and waves of evil-sounding guitar and bass harmonies. But then in the last section of the third song, it sounds like the band is in some twisted cathedral, built at the edge of the abyss. There are other atmospheric moments as well. Krallice is on Profound Lore Records, but Years Past Matter is self-released. You can get the album at Krallice’s Bandcamp page.
