Few have come close to equating madness with musical prowess and art. Alkaloid makes this look graceful. The super group’s debut album ‘The Malkuth Grimoire’ left jaws dropped and minds inspired. Nobody could expect any less from their latest offering ‘Liquid Anatomy’. The album makes it obvious that expectations need not have limits when it comes to this band. ‘Liquid Anatomy’ takes over where ‘The Malkuth Gimoire’ left. The album combines gripping story telling with insane song writing. The first impression when you begin to dig deeper into the music is the best. It leaves you wondering how in the name of the Dyson Sphere are some of the parts in the music even humanly possible to conceptualize. The world is not enough. It is time to transcend.
The album opens with “Kernel Panic”. Parts of the song revisit the previous album. It literally takes over from the previous album. The groove rich and spaced vibes quickly shift to extremities. Because why not? This is what Alkaloid feels like and it feels great to feel that vibe left over from the debut album. “As Decreed By Laws Unwritten” begins pushing up the intensity of the album. Hannes’ drums add a kind of thunder to the music only unique to his kind of playing and vision. The song is laden with rich textures in the rhythm sections and the leads bring back the very alien feel to the band’s leads. The bass holds down the groove and makes the already heavy guitars sound so much more heavy and deeper. The band makes a return to groove rich music and sort of weird yet a very distinctive band style with the title track “Liquid Anatomy”.
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“Chaos Theory” is one of the finest songs off the album. The heaviness and the technical insanity of this song sets new standards for music and musicianship alike. It is awe inspiring and an incredibly fun song to listen to. One thing is certain; I have never heard guitar rhythm sections unlike what is on ‘Liquid Anatomy’. The singing adds so much depth to Alkaloid’s distinct style of storytelling.
“Rise Of The Cephalopods” is a 20 minute epic journey that seems to rearrange your senses. This song adds new perspective as far as listening to music goes. It makes listening to music a redeeming experience. This song is everything that the band tried to do in essence as far as this album goes.
All in all, ‘Liquid Anatomy’ by Alkaloid is nothing short of sheer magical brilliance. It is safe to say that even within a genre that is not generic, ‘Liquid Anatomy’ gives new meaning to what it means to not be generic. This album is timeless. So few albums can actually achieve this. The record sounds so rich and organic. Every instrument is in its natural element and yet they so beautifully blend in with each other. The production is spectacular. The production carries the same vibe of the previous album but with new found intensity for ‘Liquid Anatomy’.
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As far as other bands go, there really is no comparison. To put into perspective the artistic brilliance of the music, I am left with no choice but to appropriate another legend. What Stanley Kubrick is to cinema, Alkaloid is to music. The experience feels so satisfying, a very different kind. It is a very meditative and profound experience to fully dwell into the finest nuances of the music and the story telling that the band offers. It feels like Kubrick. From very fine details to captivating moments, weird yet wonderful music to a very alien experience, the two feel the same.
I would really recommend putting both Alkaloid albums on a playlist with shuffle just to be able to fully comprehend the musical extremities this band is capable of. Oh well, one might argue that it is a very distasteful thing to do as far as progressive music goes, but this is a very enjoyable experience. Savour it.