BALANCE INTERRUPTION
Room 218
Room 218 is one of those albums you know is a surreal dream excursion simply from its front cover. The cover art is like an old movie about the vampire mythos; the first I thought of is of course Nosferatu but I’m sure you can think of others. As for the album, it shows Balance Interruption exhibits black metal with a death metal edge and the creative fortitude to unexpectedly enhance it with jazz in strategic places.
This is their third full length following Nuclear War For Rescue (2007) and Era II: Deserts Of Ashes (2011). The Ukraine band also include acerbic riffs, unorthodox passages, ambient sounds, electronic/industrial effects, movie samples and even saxophone. I think this last addition will be sufficient to most effectively unhinge extreme metal fans, but it’s only a small sample. I’ll take the chance of stating this is how Pink Floyd might sound if blown back as a black metal outfit (by this I mean the psychedelic era Pink Floyd), especially in their song Morbid Soul Shelter. It may be hubris to say so, but I’m talking about the imagination and feeling evoked, the wonder and abject terror that arises. Besides, I’ve read similar comparisons made by some reviewers.
Perhaps something more reasonable would be to say this album falls within that category of Sigh, Tartaros and latter Emperor. If you’re looking for traditional elements you may hear some Mayhem, Deicide and Sepultura (Roots era). Whoever you happen to be reminded of, you won’t be bored while listening as each track brings something different from the previous track to the table, and you won’t be able to help your curiosity to consume everything placed before you. Bands have a better chance to be noticed by revising the rulebook or adding new chapters, and it only takes one song to show Balance Interruption have made a massive effort to take the experimentation of those who came before them in new directions.
Making use of guitars, time changes and nightmare visions, the band increase their effectiveness and assail you with one turn after the next. Again you’ll find yourself remembering those few years in the late 90s when a select number of bands played with song structure, verse and arrangement and produced something instantly recognizable as never having been tried. Room 218 is a full length that continues where other bands left off. It’s one of those albums that plays less like a collection of songs and more like the most surreal, horrifying supernatural thriller you’ve seen in your years.
One listener’s post on the album’s link at Bandcamp summed it up as saying the Ukrainian underground has outdone itself once again. The breaks between each section of each song sound more clearly defined while retaining consistency. The jazz and saxophone elements added to Last Sunset Without Sun, D.U.S.T., Suicidealer and Imcubatum Conveyor travel those extra miles toward expanding the range a band can compose with and proving it takes intelligence and an unwavering ability to dream to spawn an unforgettable and unorthodox album. -Dave Wolff
Track list:
1. Last Sunset Without Sun
2. Door 218
3. Not Survived To The Sentencing
4. D.U.S.T
5. Suicidealer
6. Incubatum Conveyor
7. Morbid Soul Shelter
8. Hypnotik Eye Kvlt Terror
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