Chicago’s favorite avant metal alchemists Scientist released the brain-contorting wares of their complex yet compelling Barbelith full-length earlier this month.
Today, Indy Metal Vault is hosting the visual accompaniment to Barbelith track “Magick Mirror” noting, “‘Magick Mirror’ is perhaps the greatest example of what Scientist accomplishes as a band and what Barbelith represents musically. The song is brimming with the creative incorporation of melody, dirty riffs, somewhat bluesy leads, light black metal musicality, and the integration of a progressive twist… some of the most creative elements of songwriting Scientist practice…are to be found on the track…”
The seven-track Barbelith centers itself thematically on Grant Morrison’s comic book series, The Invisibles where Barbelith is the name of the “placenta” for humanity; a satellite-like object located on the dark side of the moon. Barbelith was captured by Pete Grossman (Weekend Nachos, Jar’d Loose), mixed by Sanford Parker (Buried At Sea, Corrections House, Minsk, Twilight), and mastered by Alan Douches (Cannabis Corpse, Converge, Torche, Tombs).
Scientist will bring their sonic sorcery to stages in the coming weeks with future shows to be announced soon. See all confirmed dates below:
4/26/2018 Burlington – Chicago, IL w/ Cokegoat, Corridoré
4/27/2018 Quarters – Milwaukee, WI w/ Cokegoat, Corridoré
4/28/2018 The Wisco – Madison, WI w/ Cokegoat, Corridoré
6/03/2018 Doomed & Stoned Fest @ Reggies – Chicago, IL
6/09/2018 Burlington – Chicago, IL w/ Dethbeds, Axioma
Scientist – featuring founding guitarist/vocalist Eric Plonka (Yakuza), guitarist/vocalist Patrick Auclair (ex-Taken By The Sun), drummer Justin Cape (ex-Taken By The Sun), vocalist Barry Kotarba (Boatman’s Toll), and bassist Mathew Milligan (Making Ghosts) – manufactures elements of sludge, doom, prog, and black metal into something that’s at once, original, organic and all-consuming; an eclectic sound that’s equal parts brutal and transcendental.
“Scientist demonstrate excellent chemistry and cohesiveness throughout… There’s nothing self-indulgent about Barbelith: the band has delivered a forearm shiver to us…” — Angry Metal Guy
“Scientist possesses the same technical, progressive song structures [as early Mastodon] while bringing back the raging fury of Leviathan and Blood Mountain. The gruff, lumberjack vocals sound like they were directly ripped from forgotten early B-sides… clearly the second coming [of Mastodon], with a little Tool influence thrown in for good measure (‘Barbelith’).” — Metal Trenches
“…an awesome slab of psychedelic sludge that should appeal to fans of early Mastodon and Baroness. It’s got hints of hardcore punk, trippy atmosphere, and catchy alternative rock in the mix, and the song travels through all these different sounds without ever losing focus. It’s a real heater.” — BrooklynVegan on “(Home) At Last”
“…thoroughly engaging from start to finish…It’s an album with a varied sonic vision that takes all of its disparate musical components and fuses them into a ravishing whole. It’s ambitious in all the right ways, and cashes in on every promise it makes.” — Heavy Blog Is Heavy
“While Barbelith nears an approximation of high speed sludge with convoluted riffs as our closest description, it’s apathetic to genres. What it does do is cultivate chaos into an experimental force!” — Cvlt Legion
“…the combination of the band’s heaving, flowing flux of sound and the dizzy strangeness of Morrison’s worldview makes for some heady stuff. And if you don’t know Morrison’s work, no worries (but maybe read it) — there’s still plenty of interesting, exhilarating listening on Barbelith. It never stops moving, slithering, rippling, flowing, erupting and then doing it all over again.” — Dusted
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