Februus is out to stir things up.
With this second album, Construction of Conflict, Swedish musician Andreas Karlsson (Fetus in Fettuccine, Well of Depression, Tranq Wound…) signs with Transcending Obscurity Records.
Genocide by Default kicks off with a bang, featuring a sonic maelstrom infused with death metal, over which the musician quickly begins to scream while unleashing a barrage of blast beats and convoluted riffs for an extended period before finally deigning to let us catch our breath during an incredibly unsettling break. The rhythm section resumes more slowly but eventually unveils harrowing sounds; then Measures of Escalation takes over and crushes us without delay, finally allowing ethereal touches to join the carnage. The musician then pushes forward with the power of his intricate harmonics, letting the thick foundation do its work. The vocal parts grow increasingly strange, while Suicide by Proxy grants us a brief respite before revving the machine back up at full speed, maintaining its jerky, tortured approach while continuing to unleash its brutal influences. Here, too, the musician clearly has no intention of letting us catch our breath until the strange finale, when an explosion propels us into The First Limb is Cut, a track where we rediscover the concepts of dissonance and unpredictability, as they define it so perfectly. The various waves follow one another but are all distinct, and the same is true of The Misery That Awaits the World, which surprises with its gentleness while remaining rooted in the project’s prog sensibility, heralding the return of intensity with Fueled by Narcissism, a relatively more “traditional” composition yet infused with raw fury. One might even detect a hint of Old School influence in some passages, while others are far more experimental, featuring an intriguing clean vocal before plunging back into that virulent unknown toward Scavengers of the Forgotten Poor, a track that starts off quite restless and makes heavy use of piercing harmonics to create a sound even more abrasive than it already is. The sound kicks off frantically for Suppressing the Future, the album’s final track, and you can tell the musician doesn’t hesitate to swing back and forth between the two extremes, whether it’s the occasional melodic touch or, conversely, the most brutal tones, like the wall of blast beats that often wash over us before the long, relatively calm central section, followed by the Death/Doom-inspired final.
If you had any doubts about Februus’ ability to be dissonant, I can assure you they’re unfounded! Blending Death, Prog, and massive elements, Construction of Conflict will have no trouble winning over a discerning audience.
80/100
