Ixion has always been a band that applies their chosen subject matter of science fiction more broadly than most. They make their stories vast and their scope grand, and then position their deeply personal music against these backdrops as if arraying them to heighten the contrast. Though the French band explores the cosmos through atmospheric doom metal, they do so while remaining intensely emotional and always inquisitive.
Their newest project is a sort of meta-album, Evolution, that looks at humanity’s fate alongside the rise of androids. The first part of this work, the Extinction EP, is set to release digitally this Tuesday but is streaming a day early.
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On Extinction, the melancholic chords and dismal growls of death/doom metal are not a constant, but instead a gut-punching eventuality that lurks within sweeping instrumental textures. The combination draws up an especially potent atmosphere where quiet, musing exploration often meets stark, uncomfortable truth in dramatic form. Alongside excellent pacing, Extinction outstrips much of its peers by daring to apply unusual, drastic vocal harmonies in combination with emphatic riffs. It’s extremely contemplative, despite its heaviness, and lends real weight to its thought-provoking concept.
The band comments:
The album is based on a musical and thematic concept in three parts. It speaks about the evolution of humanity, the expansion of androids, and their crossed future, around an atmospheric, melancholic and progressive doom metal, playing with influences, sometimes orchestral, sometimes electronic.
As the first part, EXTINCTION unveils a journey of atmospheric doom filled with symphonic and acoustic soundscapes, both epic and intimate. It will take you into the future, questioning how humanity will struggle with mortality in a world where android technology rises. EXTINCTION will be released tomorrow on all digital platforms. As a whole, the album will also be released physically later this fall.
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Extinction releases April 16th via Finisterian Dead End.
