In a 1957 interview, Albert Camus was asked about his relationship with his work and his audience. For whom was he writing, and why? “Tomorrow the world may burst into fragments,” he responded. “In that threat hanging over our heads there is a lesson of truth. As we face such a future, hierarchies, titles, honors are reduced to what they are in reality: a passing puff of smoke. And the only certainty left to us is that of naked suffering, common to all, intermingling its roots with those of a stubborn hope.”
This was the sentiment that kept welling up within me as I listened to The One Who Propels, the third album from Dutch post-metal quartet Gavran. The world is sliding back into authoritarianism and we have to suffer the inane, hateful ramblings of the ghouls holding the reins. Our Sisyphean burden only grows heavier with each passing day. So what’s a metalhead to do? Well, Gavran doesn’t pretend to have any answers, nor do they attempt to convince anyone that everything will be fine. Rather, they choose to face the unrelenting chaos of our world and scream right back, striking a chord (or rather, quite a few of them) that resonates long after the final notes fade.
Below, you can stream The One Who Propels ahead of its January 30th release.
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In addition to the burly, downtuned power chords and cathartic crescendos that one might expect from a modern post/sludge metal release—which the band has down to a science at this point—Gavran also employs a few timbral subtleties that tie its sound together. Perhaps the most prominent example is guitarist/vocalist Jamie Kobić harrowing screams. One minute, he’s crooning softly, his voice slowly rising to meet his bandmates’ seismic crunch in a trancelike chant. Then Kobić’s chilling, aquiline shriek pierces through the mix as if torn from his lungs. The One Who Propels is full of disarming sonic juxtapositions: the opening track’s huge major-key riffs ascending skyward above a thunderous ostinato; the pensive clean guitar intro of “Brod” interrupted by squealing amp feedback; the crushing yet bittersweet first movement on “Plutaju” giving way to stunned silence amidst a gentle wash of cymbals. Just as absurdity and happiness are two sides of the same coin, these clashing textures unite to form a potent musical manifesto for these uncertain times.
—Alex Chan
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Jamie Kobić also shared this message:
“The One Who Propels captures the same duality as the first two albums did. However, the latest record steps away from the approach that is mostly based on hope. The One Who Propels, like the previous records, is about moving away from darkness into the light. But rather than hoping something can change, it is about the necessity to have the energy to do so. It is about finding out where change begins. Not outside, in the world. Not with anyone else but yourself. To dissolve darkness into love, which means no division, no comparison, no hatred, no anger, no destruction. All these things seem to have troubled humanity since time immemorial.
If we think we can resolve this before putting our own house in order first, nothing will change, as we can see in our world until this very day. If we think someone else—a particular group, some leader or politician—can change all of this, we are lost, because they are the root of the problem. The One Who Propels is about you as a listener, the change you can accomplish within you. See what happens if you start there, not demanding anything from anyone else. Just to listen, to observe.”
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The One Who Propels releases January 30th, digitally and on vinyl, courtesy of Dunk! Records.
