Quebec death and thrash trio Dissimulator are streaming “Neon Metropolis,” the newest single from their second album Artifice Dissolves, out October 2 on 20 Buck Spin.
The band is made up of members of Chthe’ilist, Atramentus, Beyond Creation and Incandescence.
Guitarist and vocalist Claude Leduc explains the track:
“Inspired by reveries borne of nighttime strolls in Montreal, ‘Neon Metropolis’ depicts a flaneur meandering through an autonomous megacity. A hymn-like chorus underscores the mood of alienated despair while the song’s urgent cadence mimics human and machine bustling to the restless beat of the cybernetic hive. This city is not made for human life; it is without community; without history; without finality. Those who adapt see themselves reduced to mere utility, while the rest are condemned to haunt the shadows of the system’s forgotten crevices. It is the untenable result of life being in service to ever greater technological efficiency and development, rather than directing technical knowledge for the purposes of life.”
With Artifice Dissolves, the Montreal band accelerates beyond the coordinates set by their Lower Form Resistance debut and plunges into a future world where technological hegemony and catastrophic entropy sit in perfect equilibrium. Their jagged sci-fi death and thrash has evolved into a more labyrinthine construct, fusing serrated riff matrices and volatile rhythmic architecture.
Drummer Phillipe Boucher, bassist Antoine Daigneault and Leduc propel the record like an untethered artificial consciousness recursively rewriting its own code. Razor-wire guitar lines whiplash and intersect at impossible angles while the rhythm section drives tracks like “Alloyed” and “Neon Metropolis” through perpetual states of intensifying velocity, collapse and reassembly.
Beneath the precision and violent thrust, the band maintains a human striving for order and transcendence beyond the technological.
Drums were recorded by Xavier Berthiaume at Productions Tehom. The bulk of the audio, including additional vocals on several tracks by Laurent Bellemare, was recorded by the band, then reamped, mixed and mastered by Hugues Deslauriers at Roarrrsoundsstudio. Artwork comes from Noah Cutter Meihoff, known for his work with Ghost and Imperial Triumphant, with layout by Audrey Pasquini of Bangs! Studio.
Fans of Obliveon, Sadus, Voivod, Cryptic Shift, Vektor, Watchtower, Atheist, Decapitated, Meshuggah and Cynic should take note.
Pre-order Artifice Dissolves: 20 Buck Spin webshop | Bandcamp
Dissimulator
- Phillipe Boucher – drums
- Claude Leduc – guitar, vocals
- Antoine Daigneault – bass
Photo by Kristel Boucher
