Transmissions Of The Unearthly (Double Album 2021)

Nothing Is Real

Improvised Progressive Psychedelic Black Sludge Doom Metal

From the Golden State, more precise the City of Angels, place to forge alliances and to experience movie and music history, comes a band, laying down their mind-expanding “Physical Graffiti”. Partners for a campaign they found in Cave Dweller Productions (also Cool Chair).

Nicholas Turner and Jeremy Lauria are the two protagonists, who teamed up for a two-days-live-session at Snagglethooth Studios and mastered at Dead Air Studios. The outcome is an impressive and fantastic double album, like one from e.g. Øresund Space Collective. Nothing Is Real is the appropriate title of the project. They see themselves in tradition of likes of Can and King Crimson. The concept for the two parts is the “Chaos” versus the “Order” within our psyche.

So on CD one “Chaos”, we directly get a fulminant presentation of their skills. Harsh screams meet Progressive licks and solos like NŪR. Flickering noises refine the contrast of dissonant and common riffing patterns. The “Knight Rider Theme” fusions with Jazz, oriental spices, Black Metal labels and Alternative descants, bringing up UK Heavy Prog like the Black Peaks.

The voice is whispering, singing and shouting, still not in the foreground but fitting into the overall construct. Personal highlight is “Crackling Heathen”, a headbanger full of Groove with the kick bumping your eardrum. “The Amusement Park” features a sample of the film of the same name, and a riff like InstinctHate played with the circus topic, but with a Stoner drive.

Coming to “Order”, we realize it is actually the quieter part. But with explosions as well: “You’re not as fucking important as you think”. Sweet riffs with cool gloominess make “King Of The Wastelands” another favourite. With “The Triumph Over All”, the brilliant piece comes to a final rough farewell.

Unhurried still haunted. Slow to up-tempo. Cool yet sinister. Ambivalence is all around when Nothing Is Real.