I’m sure it won’t be long before I get a promo about some fucking AI-generated band, a pile of filth that no human is behind and that just further erodes artistic expression as we know. For now, I’d prefer getting records from bands who sound like machines and deliver punishment that bleeds and chews nerve endings properly.
Canadian tech-thrash beast Dissimulator create things that don’t seem possible by mere humans, but their second record “Artifice Dissolves” seems to prove that machines still have a way to go before metal’s boundaries are threatened. On this nine-track, 46-minute beast, the band—vocalist/guitarist Claude Leduc, bassist Antoine Daigneault, drummer Phillipe Boucher—brings experience from other crushers including Chthe’ilist, Atramentus, Beyond Creation, Incandescence, and many others, and if you know the brain-breaking creations from those units, you still only have an idea of the delirium waiting.
“Apophenic Rage” erupts with the drumming breaking the surface, thrashing with grimy vocals and speed that snarls and spits. Boucher unloads again, jarring and changing complexion, the tempo shifting before choking out. “Hungry Ghosts” batters as the pace snakes, the brutality raining in sheets, rubbery riffs paving the way for alien vocals. Zany lead run wild as the playing stirs and smears brains, spacious leads stretch, and cosmic wash cleanses wounds. The title track rips and spatters, the leads ravaging with electricity, throaty growls going for the throat. The track has a weird rebirth as a chewy, Voivod attack arrives, zapping with fire as the guitars hit the gas pedal. The pace rushes as a thrashy beating blackens eyes, trudging to a mangling end. “Alloyed” instantly powders bones, the vocals torching and the solo bursting, racing harder and challenging your mind. Drums punish as the growls snake around corners, stomping through mud, landing blows.
“Proprioceptor” is murky with synth smoking, speaking vocals creeping, the guitars gutting as the pace gets uglier. The leads rise and soar as the screams batter with terror, the guitars explore, and a final gust sprays cinders. “Dusk” is a quick instrumental with gentler leads glowing, the heat rising, sounds glimmering and bleeding into “Neon Metropolis” that gusts from the doors. The pace jolts as the drums incinerate, the playing stabbing with authority, speeding and pummeling, otherworldly vocals warping. The leads catch fire and strangle, flashing attitude, ending as it hurtles into space. “Anodyne” slips from the fog, guitars immediately speed up, and a chugging pace hacks chunks of flesh. The playing battles harder, the guitars wind up dangerously, and everything sprawls to an end. Closer “Robostrobos” explodes, the growls chew, the guitars burn with cosmic fuel, increasing delirium. Stunningly fast guitars bend brains, growls scrape, and the attack decimates, the pace wrecking and turning to space dust.
Dissimulator feel like a cyborg crunching your mid-section as “Artifice Dissolves” is a battering, mind-bending experience that also enthralls. This is technical wizardly and death metal weirdness smooshed together with some sort of strange goo from another place. This will steamroll you as you’re mentally working your way through other dimensions.
For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/dissimulatorofficial
To buy the album, go here: https://www.20buckspin.com/collections/dissimulator/
For more on the label, go here: https://www.20buckspin.com/
