Round two ya dirty bastards! My (somewhat late) album review of Relapse by Tatius Wolff! Got one more review coming tonight, so stay tuned for the lightning round fuckers!
(Google Transcript)
(0:00) How the fuck are you maggoty piss pipes doing today? It's The Aussie Metalhead here I'm pretty stoked to be following up last fortnight's single review of False Hope with the full-length album review for Sydney-based alternative metal act Tatius Wolff. The album is entitled The Relapse and it's a concept album tackling the themes of recovery from the initial shock through to the final reconciliation and resolution. Pretty heavy subject matter and I imagine it'll carry a lot a lot of emotional weight to some, myself included so I am very interested to see how Mr. Wolff has tackled this particularly personal subject matter here on this album. So without any further fucking delay here it is The Relapse by Tatius Wolff.
(1:00) Auxilium is a fucking interesting opener, honestly one of the biggest surprises for me on the entire album. It opens up in this kind of mechanical swaying groove, the mix awash with colourful strokes of synth and airy harmonics. It's weird, kind of janky and dissonant which is complemented nicely when it drops into this very kind of proggy chugging passage, riding an interesting time signature, It's kind of juxtaposition but it's sort of I guess it opens up your mind a little bit before things get switched off in this really weird kind of rocky swaggerish riff that offsets everything that came before hand. In a way I feel like this song's objective is to subvert the expectations of the initial listener and I think that in that respect this song doe it quite well. Before we can get too comfortable though it switches up into something that I can only kind of describe as sort of "Djentified Tool", if that makes any sense. Strangely enough reminding me of a few of the rhythmic grooves from "Vicarious" at times. So yeah that's Auxilium in a nutshell. It's strange bizarre hypnotic and of course instrumental. Now I think that it's an interesting choice to have opened up such a heavy emotional concept down with an instrumental track anyway. I kind of I feel like the trippy qualities that Auxilium brings to the table kind of paints this emotional tone of someone who feels scattered. It really is sort of the initial numbing shock when nothing makes sense and I think that if you think about it emotionally it makes a lot of sense as the opening track for the album. Well we're one track in and I'm pretty digging it so far. Well let's see what the next tracks got going on.
(2:55) The Shock is something of an oddball of a track to be honest it opens up this kind of standard bassy proggy intro with some cool little melodic licks in there very kind of eighties sensibility with the guitar licks in this particular intro. It's pretty fucking cool. I got this sort of cerebral feeling of a familiarity but at the same time something quite distinct and very much its own. It's when the vocals come into the mix that things get very strange. I listened to the album several times through, through a decent pair of headphones and then the next time around through a set of speakers. What I found is that through this song in particular, the vocals didn't sink into the track, they sort of do feel like they're very much layered on top. It's honestly something that I found quite a bit challenging to get through on and my initial listens. When I jumped in it kind of made sense from more of a thematic standpoint the track focusing on the immediate aftermath of a traumatizing revelation. So it doesn't make sense that there's a sense of disparity there kind of the the scattered nature of the human spirit throughout such ordeals and then the fragmented vocal presence sort of made a little more sense. It's not the easiest listen but at the same time I feel like some of these decisions could have been made from a purely thematic point of view of show don't tell as it were, which personally I'm always down for when it comes to telling the story. There's a sick kind of breakdown bridge section near the halfway point of the song when the vocal is settling and the distorted whispery effects have dropped to deal quite an enormous blow of clarity to the track that really stuck out to me it's preceded by this cool little piano and bass section that really crashes into the breakdown I really enjoyed this part. The bass and drums on this track are fucking popping I actually really didn't mind the program drums here at all it's such an interesting and mix and Tatius' himself has a distinct vocal style that stands out as well as a range of influences that combine and transform into something quite unique. There's also some banging Djenty instrumental grooves and and melodic passages throughout this song but I won't spoil them as a lot of the fun comes from hearing them the first time itself. Overall this song is fucking weird but I kind of like it for those reasons. It transform and it goes to weird places, doesn't feel janky or forced, it's actually quite unpredictable at times which as you guys know is something that I personally am always down with. All right bit different bit weird but I liked it next song.
(5:43) Next up we've got Recovery and I really did not get into this one on my first few listens it has such an discombobulating intro, I mean you know where I have to be out in my head when I use a word like discombobulating for fuck's sake, it kind of goes from this chuggy groove to like a grungy sludgy off-kilter kind of jig that I found to be quite bizarre to wrap my head around, it's almost like Alice In Chains, Earth and The Beatles all took acid and like got stuck in the fifth dimension or something. Again it just feels so trippy and cerebral. I know that this review is probably gonna sound quite hyperbolic but I'm really struggling to define just what kind of tone this album sits in. Multi-generational trippers is the only thing coming close to be totally honest. I honestly have no idea how I feel about this song even writing the review I have no fucking idea how I feel about this song. Fucking weird. Don't do drugs kids!
(6:54) Ah False Hope I'm not gonna go into full detail about this one as I've already done review for the single. I will post the link to that single review in the description if you're keen to hear a more in-depth analysis of this particular track. To just kind of summarize everything that I said in the previous video I feel like it's kind of Tool meets Queens Of The Stone Age jamming inside a pyramid off their tits on a peyote vision quest. I like the riding blues that transitions nicely throughout the song. I like the vocal effects and the very very basic fucking mix. Overall still pretty sick track.
(7:38) Next up we have the title track, The Relapse. More simply basic grooves transitioning nicely into this song from False Hope. It's quite similar with extra little musical effects and twists thrown in there for good measure. But it kind of still tows the same kind of spectrum that False Hope showed us prior swings from these melodic runs and and crooning kind of clean vocals to these kind of meaner bassier grooves. A lot more Tool vibes here I've got certain sections of the song maybe a little bit of Primus in there when it comes to the unusual kind of jaunty nature of the rhythm but that could personally just be just me. There's a really sick instrumental passage in this song with some really cool kind of Egyptian sounding arrangements that flows back into the main group quite nicely. Not much else to say about this one to be honest it's pretty tight it's catchy has an interesting lyrical imagery and I like where it goes musically. Toight!
(8:35) Ahh Proelium, I've gotta be honest here I mean I have no idea how to pronounce that song title by the way. Pro-Liam it's the one song on here that I really just don't like. Just flat-out could not get into this one at all. I can't get into the gallopy you ride. I really dug the intro with some cool synth and some interesting drum patterns but when it comes to the main riff I just I just can't get into it. I like the slowest section where everything drops off again but I find that the galloping ride that makes up the majority of the first half of the song really didn't sit with me it felt quite out of place and out of home thematically and tonally with the rest of the album. Honestly must have listened to this song more so than any other track on the album just trying to get my head around it trying to see if if maybe it would grow on me but I'm really just oh man just doesn't gel with me doesn't gel with me at all. At the end of the day I just think that this track does not gel with me, it sounds too damn happy it's a bit of a weird placement I think it sitting stands out like a little bit of a sore thumb on the album but honestly it's it's it's fine it's quite fine because I we're about to jump into my favorite track on the whole damn album so brace yourselves.
(10:01) Trauma is just straight up fucking heavy. It has a slamming intro that smacks you right around the fucking noggin before slamming the brakes hard and sitting us for this really cool slow jam section that just completely comes out of fucking nowhere. I actually love this intro because it kind of convinces you that it's gonna be this totally hectic kind of crazy fucking track and then for it to just jump off the fucking platform and dive right into the kind of this slow jam it's kind of a really interesting little parabol but then we hit the fucking accelerator and we jab right back into the heavy groove with some pretty dark melodic lickage over it before it descends back into the chill arrangement. Really like the back-and-forth going on in this song I think that it pushes the concept of the brief moments of vocalizations punctuated this heavy banger are kind of the moments in Trauma when we can actually express ourselves but then another wave hits you and you're just unable to vocalize you're unable to to describe what you're going through. I dig the storytelling using the instrumentals I think it achieves a real state of emotional investment by far my favorite track on the entire album Trauma brings the hooks brings the bangers and brings the fills all in one.
(11:16) The Tormentor is a really interesting track it has this kind of 80's sort of horror movie vibe in its intro a creepy synth driven soundscape permeated by these compressed drums and pulsating bass. It's pretty cool kind of subvertitive and ethereal before jumping right into a surprise blast beat, the only blast beat on the entire fucking album and that's why it's so damn crazy when it just comes
out of nowhere. I don't think I've quite achieved the same level of emotional investment as Trauma does but I'd be remiss if I left out just how much this track left me smiling the first time I listened to it and it goes straight into this insane blast out of the slow jam kind of intro. It's one, it's unexpected and glorious, one of the best standout moments on the whole album. Followed by another sick instrumental passage chock full of tasty fucking licks. I really dig the vocal delivery here as well, similar to Trauma, The Tormentor focuses on oppression pain agony both physical and emotional. I'd say that this, False Hope and Trauma would have to be my top picks for the entire album, with Auxilium just coming just underneath the mark. I'd say that it really delivers this cerebral ethereal mix of styles and moves. Ultimately it's just fucking interesting stuff it's really interesting to listen
to.
(12:42) All right here we are fuckers, Despair, that last track on the album. Despair feels like a culmination of everything that we've been through so far. This one has a real dreamscape, it's spacey chords, choir like vocal arrangements and I think there's kind of trance-like tone of uncertainty and restlessness. It feels like the end of a long journey tired but ultimately accomplished. I think my major issue with this song, if any is it it does end quite abruptly. I felt like it could have maybe done another 20 or so seconds, just to sort of fade out and unwind. I feel like it would have given the listener a chance to sit there and unwind from the listen, really kind of feel that finality as things just sort of peter off into nothingness. Overall I dig Despair. I think it resolves the album fairly well and has a unique but familiar feeling giving the album a sense of closure. I do think that it could have stood to have a little bit more of an outro there, just again - without repeating myself to just allow the album to kind of gently come to a slow halt. It just kind of feels like the brakes get pumped a little bit suddenly there and it kind of pulls you out of it just a little bit.
So yeah that was The Relapse. It's definitely not an album for everybody but I think the for those of you who take the time to listen to it will probably find this are quite deceptively layered nuanced and dynamic album with some interesting writing choices. I don't think that every choice necessarily works here but for a DIY standalone self made release I'm actually quite impressed with how it does manage to stick to its guns tonally and conceptually. With a few missteps here and there but overall I'm fairly confident in recommending this album for anyone who feels like something a little off the beaten path, trying something a little bit different. Anyway guys that's enough from me today. I hope you've enjoyed today's fucking review. Shout out to Mr. Tatius Wolff again for getting in touch with me and recommending that I review his album. Please go ahead and check it out, get it off Bandcamp if you can, and don't forget to Like and subscribe all that good shit. And until I see you fuckers next time, Stay Sick!
