Simulacron

Description

After a long hiatus, Shakhtyor return with their third album. "Simulacron" is a post-metal/sludge juggernaut. When Shakhtyor formed in Hamburg in 2009, their direction initially seemed clear: instrumental doom. But it soon became apparent that the trio had no intention of confining themselves to those boundaries. Doom and sludge collide with bursts of black and death metal, psychedelic jam passages, hypnotic grooves and atmospheric synthesizer textures. For Shakhtyor, genre boundaries are material to work with rather than limitations. "Simulacron" is the Hamburg trio's third album, following their self-titled debut and its successor "Tunguska". Once again recorded at Tonmeisterei, the album sounds anything but static despite the band's long history. Quite the opposite: the songwriting has become more concise and focused, while the musical boundaries have been pushed even further. Tracks exceeding the ten-minute mark are by no means unusual. Seventeen years after their formation, Shakhtyor remain difficult to pigeonhole. "Simulacron" combines crushing riff power with psychedelic depth and atmospheric finesse. A heavy, idiosyncratic beast - and precisely for that reason, one hell of a fascinating album.