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Minsk: With echoes in the movement of stone

13/07/09 || Euthanatos

I love Minsk. The band, not the town, although I’d love to visit Minsk. The town, I mean. Anyway, Minsk came about in the early 2000’s with a really different approach to metal. It was part post-metal, part sludge, doom, a whole plethora of styles, and all of it with plenty of substance. I was certainly astonished with their debut, “Out of a Center Which is Neither Dead nor Alive”, but their next album, “The Ritual Fires of Abandonment”, was even better.

Now comes the new one, “With Echoes in the Movement of Stone”, and I’m caught in that limbo where you don’t quite know if this album is better or worse than the previous ones. In many ways, it is neither; it’s simply different. For one, Minsk has always relied heavily on the instrumental, with vocals being used much more as a secondary instrument than a main focus of the song. Now, the vocals are front and center, and although I’m not certain that was the best move they’ve made, they (the vocals) are always interesting enough to make the music even richer.

The instrumental is still filled with long, haunting passages, the distinct ethereal atmosphere is still present as before, but now Tim Mead makes all his pain, suffering and bewilderment at life and reality as we know it much more pungent, moaning and screaming his way into all realms, known and unknown.

One thing that also hasn’t changed and I love in Minsk is everything that concerns the guitars; there are always great riffs and melodies to pick out from the organized chaos that is the band’s music, making each new listen a renewed delight. Minsk always keeps you captivated, no matter how many times you listen to one of their songs. Another high point for this album for me is when Mead uses his cleaner vocals, sounding almost shamanic in his chanting.

And while some people compare Minsk to the post-metal pillars of the genre, like Neurosis and Isis, I beg to differ heartily. I don’t think anyone sounds like Minsk, and Minsk doesn’t sound like any other band. They truly make their songs on their own pace, a slow, riveting rhythm.

But while I do enjoy this album, particularly “The Shore of Transcendence”, I can’t shake the feeling that it is a tad weaker than it’s predecessor. The reason is simple, while “Ritual Fires” was constantly blowing me away with the multitude of perfect melodies, “With Echoes in the Movement of Stone” sometimes made me wander aimlessly, thinking about something else entirely, meaning that the music wasn’t keeping a firm enough grip on me.

And while, true, the band did try to innovate, such as in tracks like, “Almitra’s Premonition”, I, like Duff mentioned in his review for the previous album linked above, still think Minsk’s best is yet to come. No, this one isn’t it yet, although it is a pretty good album.

Recommended for those that smoke drugs or those that enjoy more complex and not so heavy metal with lots of atmosphere. Definitely a no-no for those with a short attention span.

The cover: A face disintegrating amidst a bunch of shit I can’t quite make out. Fits the music perfectly, though.

7 battlefields of WWII out of 10.

Information
Released: 2009
Label: Relapse Records
Website: www.thesoundofminsk.com
Band
Chris Bennett: guitars
Tim Mead: vocals, percussion, keyboard
Sanford Parker: bass
Tony Wyioming: drums

Tracklist
01. Three Moons
02. The Shore of Transcendence
03. Almitra’s Premonition
04. Means to An End
05. Crescent Mirror
06. Pisgah
07. Consumed By Horizons of Fire
08. Requiem: From Substance to Silence

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