Released on: 9th March 2018
This album is epic; this album is how you can describe elation with tonal colour and substance. In short: this album is a combo killer that’s heavy as fuck.
From Jamie Blacker, whose name and voice might be familiar for fans of iVardensphere, ESA and the debut album That Beast is to dance music what the Kraken is to the sea. A fucking monster. A big satisfying meal of music that could drag you to hell; or you can ride on its majesty for a whale of a time. That Beast is, at its core, an absolutely beasting album.
There’s a couple of reasons that this album is a mighty piece of dance music. Using a power noise ensemble and blending it with aggrotech progression is just one of them. The use of rhythm is integral to the structure of both genres and ESA has got it down. As polyrythms pervade through, in and over melodic intent the tribalism that Jamie is probably most famous for through iVardensphere is here as an exponent of that work but it’s not derivative of it. ESA can safely be categorized as its own beast.
A beast with two backs; a mighty leviathan in tone and texture. That Beast is a complex animal that sounds deceptively simple. With a dark atmosphere and aggressive mood it offers catharsis in the form of trance like epics that develop in time with the fermentation of noise and when combined with the movement of melody turn into a dangerously danceable substances. Mixing metals’ angst with the relief of say Underworld Jamie Blacker is pushing the boundaries of electronic music. Modernizing it and giving it a fancy new upgrade.
10/10
