GAEREA - Coma

Das vierte Epos "Coma", der portugiesischen Avantgarde Black Metaller GAEREA umfasst 50:48 Minuten, in denen der momentane Zustand der psychischen Anthropologie, bestehend aus Narzissmus, Selbstzerstörung, mentaler Katatonie und Misanthropie lyrisch exzellent eingefangen wurde. Als Hörer begibt man sich auf eine direkte Reise dorthin, wo Verzweiflung, Schrecken, Angst, Tristesse, Schmerz, Sünde und Wahn miteinander kollidieren, um geistig zu Staub zu verfallen und seine Gedankenwelt in einem aggressiven Befreiungsschlag dem Nihilismus anheimzustellen. Das ausdrucksstarke und ansprechende Coverartwork von Nathan Lorenzana spricht dabei Bände. Um es mit GAEREAs eigenen Worten zu definieren: „Endloser Raum, in unendlicher Zeit. Eine düstere Krise, ein wunderschöner Übergang in die weite Leere.“ 

English version:

- fourth epic of the Portuguese avant-garde black metallers -

Who, if not GAEREA, declared extreme metal an art form during his career? With atmospheric to destructive encores of black metal, death metal, blackgaze, noise and voidgaze, the quintet from Porto, founded in 2016, has released its fourth full-length album. The new work of art "Coma" offers ten new avant-garde agonies that invite you to drift off immersively and follow an extended path of suffering lasting over 50 minutes. The progressively pushing extreme metal, which derives its melodramatic color mainly from its long-drawn, spherical guitar playing and predominantly tends towards violent blast beats, conveys nerve-wracking, atmospherically dense emotions. This results in a sensational flow, almost like wild water rafting.

With a differentiated approach, which you will easily notice in the strong contrasts within the individual songs, GAEREA has managed to create a gracefully exalted structure of their emotional complications, which is staged in a sublime symphonic manner and intelligently arranged. Fragile, melancholic passages sometimes change abruptly into impetuous, downright dystopian thunderstorms or return from there to peaceful, thought-provoking force fields in the eye of the hurricane. Despite their immense impact, GAEREA always pursue accessible dynamics, in which subliminal choral or choral-sounding key sound layers are often integrated. The vocal performances have a cathartic effect and sound both angry and mightily pissed off. Just as if the singer wanted to destroy everything around him. His ass-tight lead guitar playing in every respect corresponds perfectly with the statically charged maelstrom riffing and the low-frequency bass technique. Whether the acoustic guitar sounds are in the foreground, there is shaking in the tremolo or perma-distorted guitar lines are chopped up, the multi-faceted snapshots of madness demonstrate vitality, aura and charisma. The rough high-speed rhythms in a wild explosion provide the necessary and efficient support.

The fourth epic "Coma", by the Portuguese avant-garde black metaller GAEREA, comprises 50:48 minutes, in which the current state of psychological anthropology, consisting of narcissism, self-destruction, mental catatonia and misanthropy, was lyrically excellently captured. As a listener, you embark on a direct journey to where despair, terror, fear, sadness, pain, sin and madness collide in order to mentally collapse into dust and surrender your world of thoughts to nihilism in an aggressive liberation attack. The expressive and appealing cover artwork by Nathan Lorenzana speaks volumes. To define it in GAEREA’s own words: “Endless space, in infinite time. A dark crisis, a beautiful transition into the vast emptiness." The production of the ten Progressive Post Apocalyptic Black Metal compositions was once again carried out by the Portuguese themselves, together with Miguel Tereso, the founder of Demigod Recordings in the Redbox Studios (engineering and recording), as well as in Demigod Studios (mix and master). With "Coma" GAEREA have reached a powerful apotheosis in terms of post-apocalyptic avant-garde black metal.

(Janko)