The wild child of Industrial music, Perturbator, has struck again.
Fresh from signing with Nuclear Blast, James Kent (Final Light, Ruin of Romantics…) unveils his sixth album, Age of Aquarius.
It kicks off with a bang with Ulver on Apocalypse Now, the first track, which reveals a certain melancholy in its futuristic keyboard layers, but also and above all in the cold Post-Punk approach of its vocals. The middle of the track is much more aggressive, as is the final where drums become more excited, but we are ultimately carried along to Lunacy, where the sound becomes first more disturbing, then heavier and more martial, offering us a truly frenzied dance around the percussion. We move on very naturally to Venus, where the musician is joined by Author & Punisher to accompany him between waves of softness that shelter much rougher vocal eruptions, creating an even denser contrast. The Glass Staircase takes over with festive tones that darken and give a heavier feel, particularly thanks to the soaring harmonics, then Hangover Square offers us a much softer and more minimalist moment of floating. The interlude ends, then The Art of War kicks back in with aggressive, catchy tones, and the dance floor comes back to life with some really vindictive vibes, finally giving way to the equally motivating 12th House, which has slower but pretty majestic and unifying parts that already have us nodding our heads. The track is quite long and ventures into trap towards the end before the piano of The Swimming Pool takes over with its natural softness, taking advantage of a few airy swirls to complement its low notes, but a sample disturbs the tranquility before letting Mors Ultima Ratio offer us a taste of chaos. While certain moments may lead us to believe that calm has returned, the sound quickly ignites again before moving on to Lady Moon, where Greta Link brings a touch of her ethereal universe, further deepening the already significant contrast. The vaporous voice takes us on a journey through the beats, but the track is relatively long, regularly restarting the machine before Age of Aquarius, the last track, imposes its ten minutes, bringing Alcest back for new ethereal vocals that only they know how to do, first on a fairly soft instrumental base, then on waves of violence where the percussion races until the very last moment.
Although I never really had any particular attachment to Perturbator myself, the hype prompted me to listen to his music carefully. The result? Age of Aquarius has some really great tracks, and I understand why the band’s fans are so devoted!
70/100
