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MASS CULTURE glide majestically through the waters of massive sludge / post metal on their new LP “Primal | Ephemeral”

Published: August 16, 2018

« Guest review by IDIOTEQ Texas based contributor Eddie Cantú »

MASS CULTURE, originating and hailing from the land of Greece, are one of those hyper-talented bands that don’t come around often enough in the realm of extreme metal; in that they incorporate certain aesthetics from a multitude of other metal styles but blend them together in a way as to complement their own form of songwriting.

We have teamed up with the band to give you their thoughts on their massive debut album “Primal | Ephemeral” and take us through each and every song and its meaning. Check it out

The album as a whole, deals with feelings of isolation, fear, passion and some of the feelings and instincts that have always been a part of human nature, hence the “primal” part of “Primal | Ephemeral”. We tend to overanalyze every single thing – be it data, ideologies, or even people. We try to break down every single aspect of a person’s personality into “boxes”, categorizing them, taking only things we find “useful”, and then moving on to the next one. This is, in my opinion, the ultimate form of consumerism: we, as a society, have reached to a point where we consume people. We try and make people fit into our standards, change the parts of a person that we don’t like, and don’t take the time to invest on people and accept somebody as a whole. After something or someone has lost its usefulness, we cast it away. This is the “Ephemeral” part of the album title.

MASS CULTURE cover

Cover by Putrefurnaced Guerrilla Graphics.

“Primal – Ephemeral”, just released in August 10, is the title of the very impressive debut album by Mass Culture, and is, in my opinion, guaranteed to attract any fan of the Sludge Metal, and Post-Metal subgenres. Seemingly to be the students of sludge metal legends such as Neurosis, and Sleep – Mass Culture really know how to craft an interesting, heavy song all the while keeping a steady groove and flow to their songwriting. That’s not to say, however, that this album isn’t dynamic. In fact, one of the elements that has quickly made me a fan of this group is their keen use of ambience and structured transitions into different styles of heaviness. Many props must be given to their drummer (who is not named) for his talent of accenting his interesting patterns over the more progressive, trance-like moments of this album, and in general for knowing when to provide a supportive rhythm section as well as when to shine through a minimal riff.

Instrumentally, guitars and bass embody the true spirit of the doomed, sludge metal subgenre – what I mean is that there’s no real moments of shredding or times when one instrument is completely outshining another, rather the songwriting is constructed as to be a collective force prepared to reckon and be reckoned with. But let me tell you about what it is that has deeply impressed me about this debut offering: It seems to me that in this upcoming era of new bands, there isn’t many groups interested in crafting a full album anymore – rather, an album has become a collection of singles. But with “Primal – Ephemeral” the very atmosphere, and the way each song follows the next really brings back the nostalgia of the genre’s early days and I for one think it is so because of the broad influences incorporated and showcased. I might even dare to compare this band conceptually to a band like Agalloch by their culmination of influences all worked towards a greater vision.

Do you think Sludge Metal and Post-Metal have become relatively boring and/or restrained over the years too? Then play this record and share the newborn awe of hope.

★★