REAL LOUD

This is possibly the best metal album ever released on a classical music label, although admittedly I don't know if there are many competitors in that field. Real Loud was founded by six experimental, interdisciplinary musicians who decided to pay homage to their more rock- and metal-leaning influences such as Meshuggah by getting... well, real loud. They then presented themselves to their acquaintances at the forward-thinking New Focus label, who promptly recruited them as if they were just another one of their classical ensembles and linked them up with four classical composers to write songs for their unusual formation to premiere on their debut recording. It really baffles me why, in spite of their unique sound and interesting backstory, they had to give themselves the least creative band name imaginable for a metal group.

As you might expect from classical musicians turned metal stars, this is a relatively scholastic take on the genre: played with utmost tightness and expertise, but with no improvisation and without any one musician really taking centre stage or demanding more attention than anyone else. At the core of the band's sound lies its King Crimson-esque double trio line-up of two guitarists, two bassists and two drummers, with one of each instrument in the right channel and the other three on the left. The first three compositions on the album make use of this format in a manner inspired by minimalist music, relying heavily on repetition and doubling of motifs between the two trios. "Double Double" (the longest track on the album, and also the heaviest along with the opening "Forbidden Subjects") is especially breathtaking to hear in this regard, making use of phasing techniques to make the uneven melodic lines go in and out of sync with each other, which creates an intriguing, almost hypnotic listening experience. "Codependence" goes for a similar approach but in a much slower, subtler and more conventionally tonal way. The closer, "Go In Secret" is really the odd one out, not only because it's the only track to contain vocals (wordless, as far as I can tell), but also because it's an atonal noise collage that comes closer to dark ambient than metal. Very cool, nonetheless.

The whole thing is certainly an oddity, but one quite worth hearing for its own merits. These musicians do not hold back on the dissonance and rhythmic complexity just like they don't hold back on their realness and loudness, but lovers of experimental heavy music should definitely find this album to be of interest.