An Isolated Mind – I’m losing Myself
Band: An Isolated Mind
Title: I’m Losing Myself
Label: I, Voidhanger Records
Release date: 05 July 2019
Country: USA
Format reviewed: Digital Promo
For this week´s review, I thought the routine would be the same as always. Pick something out, listen, evaluate and write. Sounds easy enough, doesn’t it?
I think I can say that this week, for the first time I am somewhat speechless.
AN ISOLATED MIND is a one-man experimental death metal project hailing from USA. Now why would that sound like something that would leave you speechless, but that’s also just the top of the iceberg. I´m losing myself, released on the 5th of July this year, reflects on a deeper level something I for one did not appreciate until I became more familiar with the backstory.
When giving the record a first run-through I wondered why the tracks were so chaotic while still so dystopian, with the present hopelessness. “Afraid of Dissonance” is a good example, as it starts out quite ballistic but ends gloomy and sad. Most often with such tracks I wonder why, why is it like that? What is the thought behind such work?
“Eternity in a Minute” further reflects the gloom that is layered on top of everything, it works quite well and there are for sure some highlights such as the verse-riff. But the music itself was something I felt didn’t really speak to me personally.
“Turritopsis Dohrnii” has some nice melodies going on, but again I felt as if it was too cluttered for me to enjoy. I was sure a lot of work and effort was put into this, and these days I suppose the artists do need to be edgy to stick out. The essence of the melodies and chords work for sure.
Simplistic, emotional and atmospheric were the three ideas I got from “I’m Losing Myself”, which in my opinion was the strongest act of the record. Followed by the almost 18 minute long closing track “I’ve Lost Myself” I felt as if someone was just floating in the void of nothingness.
Still, I hadn’t gotten my answer for why the record was built like that. But as I said, reading up on the backstory of the artist made me realize it.
I won’t go deeper into that here. Instead, I encourage every single reader to look up this artist and his story before you give the record a listen. In no way is that meant as some sort of a pity point, but it will help you to further appreciate the work of this one-man group, as well as to further understand other people’s minds and the way they are capable of creating something that requires an effort from the listener to understand and with that, creates a certain connection with the artist and the record which I personally won’t forget. 7.5/10 Julia
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7.5/10 Victory is possible
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