Hi there, my corpse-painted children. Today, I bring you something different. Are you ever fed up with city life? With the urban hostility that eats up your soul? Well, I present the newest release from Desolat. It has probably the worst name an album could’ve had during the COVID pandemic: Get Sick and Let Me Watch You Die (too soon?), but luckily for everyone, the album is coming out now. The real question is: are we ready to jump into a sea of artsy noise, or do we need more distractions from our sad reality? Stay put!
Get Sick is dense! And I don’t mean in the exhausting department (I’m looking at you, Icelandic-like Black Metal). It’s literally a wall of grey, saturating noise that will help you vent all the anxiety public transport and crowded elevators cause you. If Get Sick were a film, it would obviously be shot in black and white, preferably on film stock. I appreciate that, despite feeling so oppressive and denying any hope for joy, the album kept things pretty short. Imagine if Thou could play short, Punk/Sludge songs, and you’ll have an idea of what Desolat is aiming for here.
I usually use this part of reviews to discuss instrumental details, but Desolat is relatively direct in this area, which is why I want to elaborate more on its themes. Desolat shows nonconformity towards the safety of our lives in the “developed” world. That’s probably why some of the track names read like the worst news headlines you’ve ever heard (“Pregnant Meth Addict With Cancer” or “Central European Nihilist Arrogance”). The band feels a lot of contempt towards a society that has made danger obsolete. It’s fascinating stuff, more than anything you could find from your local hobo team around the pub.
Time to dive into the trash containers and talk about my doubts with Get Sick. First, the musical one: the singer is drowning, people! We can barely hear a voice under a sea of saturated and crushing noise. This has to be intentional and might even have a meaning (our voices muted by the noise of our chaotic lives), but still, I’d like to hear what Alfred is saying here and there. Second, the social one: your server, The Catto, might be a billionaire secluded in its own ivory fortress now, but I was born in a place on the edge of civil war. I must say, when people miss danger and want to be cool by taking risks…they haven’t seen the real horror, the “I have no friends left because they all got shot before 24” kind. My case isn’t as extreme, but I did bury a few friends lost to violence (may you be having a beer in Valhalla, kids!). So, this rubs me a bit the wrong way.
Desolat has a super interesting album here. Even if I have my quarrels with its aesthetic decisions and take on topical subjects, it made me think beyond the music, which for many hardcore Metalheads will be uninteresting. But art is about adjusting your tools to the message you want to convey, and in that sense, I believe Desolat has succeeded in portraying a society that has lost its belief in itself.
Label: Reptilian Records
Release date: 14 June, 2024
Website: https://reptilianrecords.bandcamp.com/album/get-sick-and-let-me-watch-you-die
Country: Austria
Score: the decay of our social structures is pointless, or maybe 3.0/5.0?
Metal Eclipse Reviews 