"Mournful and heavy in sincerity, it flows and streams head first into a blizzard of hardened, distorted riffs amidst an uneasy wall of noise that’s laced with dread and trepidation. Even the violin begins to wail loudly as the panic sets in, and before you know it, both contrasting sounds become one, and play in unison, buiding to a crescendo of rapture and delirium"
My love for the underground music scene, in particular the atmospheric and post black genres reads like an open book. When I think of underground music, two solo projects always come to mind, you could nearly say that they have become the central characters to the narrative. Non-Somnia and The Abyss Inside Us have always intrigued me musically. Their emotive forcefulness along with their soul stirring melodies have always captured my imagination. And just like any great novel, the readers imagination is key to bringing the story to life. Music is no different. Both Carlos Herrera and Nikos Togkaridis are storytellers, authors, but ultimately musicians, who’s story lines unfold and reveal themselves through a myriad of euphonic and blackgazed lamentations.
Now, take a moment and imagine the emotion and power that these two musical projects could catalyse by collaberating together. Well, that wait is over, and I’m beyond excited to be able to listen to, and review the new EP from The Abyss Inside Us and Non-Somnia. Our Fears Is What We Become is the title of the EP and it’s an amalgamation of both Carlos’s and Nikos’s great wealth of talent and creativity, all blended and strewn together.
The first of six tracks is Prelude (for a new beginning), a beautiful piano laden piece of music, simplistic in its delivery but with a warmth and a sorrow that can mend and break your heart in one simple stroke of the keys. The title track Our Fears Is What We Become soon follows and leads with a weeping violin which is casually caressed by an acoustic guitar, and brush stroked percussions. Mournful and heavy in sincerity, it flows and streams head first into a blizzard of hardened, distorted riffs and an uneasy wall of noise that’s laced with dread and trepidation. Even the violin begins to wail loudly as the panic sets in, and before you know it, both contrasting sounds become one, and play in unison, buiding to a crescendo of rapture and delirium.
One Word Was Enough plays through haunting tremolo guitars and rumbling synths, all the time moving forward with metronomic precision, under the watchful eye of melancholic violins and ebony keys. The melody and the harmony is strong and powerful, reaching great emotive highs and brow beaten lows. The orchestration and rhythm of the track is infectious, it’s that kind of melody that stays with you and lodges itself deep into the old grey matter.
Previous releases from both The Abyss Inside Us and Non-Somnia have often been heavier and harsher than this split album, but as Jo Quail recently quoted on a recent podcast with me, “Heaviness is an emotional concept rather than an expression of volume”, and this resonates right through this album. Even though tracks like Beneath My Wings and Soft Sun definitely raise the ante and lean heavily into a blackgaze stupor, but the heaviness never overshadows the emotion, and this is what both these artists bring to every release.
The closing track Dont Disturb Me arrives like a morning wake up call, tick-tocking and gently nudging you to wake from your slumber. As you reach for that snooze button those distorted, fuzzy guitars shake your bones and blow the curtains wide open, releasing an ocean of glorious post metal that advances with gusto then recedes back under the blankets momentarily. One final push and the sunlight streams through under a barrage of guitars, bass and drums, blinding you with light, filling the room with radiance and hope. A great way to close an EP that is really something special, and something you dont come across too often, be sure to check it out. Avilable November 01.
https://abyssinsideus.bandcamp.com/album/our-fears-is-what-we-become