Extremity is a very 80s concept. The pushing of boundaries, the adventure of new possibilities, the expansion of genres; musical and otherwise. The 80s was a great decade for extremes and the challenging of stereotypes in much media, be they film, television, design or music. When it comes to the new wave of darker skewed 80s inspired synth music I'm finding attractions to some of the oddest and intriguing combinations makes for the most rockin experience.
Be it the steel drums on a Carpenter Brut track or the raw nerve of real life explored by Vercetti Technicolor the music that really pushes the boundaries in the darker side of the synth and take risks is what turns me in particular on. Now that we're entering into a time where Perturbator clones are beginning ply their sounds on the Internet I'm finding I have far less tolerance for a retelling of the same story than I am with more accurately portrayed 80s genres in 2015. And I think a big part of this is that the scope for incredibly kick arse combinations of sounds is still hugely untapped. I keep waiting for an 80s synth and 80s deathmetal crossover album, and I'm pretty confident there'll be one sooner than later.
The texture of sounds pushed to their limits and the boundless extremity that awaits is explored deeply in the new Reznyck EP. MUSCLE CARdiac is a violent explosion of harsh, chainsaw synths and aggressively conceived and executed tracks that threaten tear reality apart with their levels but lurking beneath the carnage on all the tracks is the ghost of the 80s. Partying hard, rockin the hand claps and guiding nearly all the melodic structures within the five tracks.
You'll not be allowed long to relax long before the discordant ripping of 'Landroverdosis' totally shreds you to your entrails. The completely in your face, rusted razor slashing of the synths is contrasted with a melody that is positively bouncy and bereft of menace yet given all manner of murderous intentions by the layers of evisceration building higher and higher.
The second track, 'Chryslerpès' is one of my favourite tracks on the EP. The sheer good rockin of the lead riff combined with open handclap slaps to the face to make sure you're paying attention is a winning combination. Add in to this some hugely aggressive percussion and hi-hats that sound like they're being pummelled by some kind of drumming automaton gone haywire and you have one goddamned rockin piece of neutron bomb flavoured ear candy.
The EP goes into some more traditional dark synth sounds with the following track 'Ebolada'. Although one of the least manic pieces on the record it makes up for it some of the most harshly produced rising melodies that climb a winding staircase of fire and barbed wire into the heavens. The Rezncyck sound lies somewhere between the pure chainsaw melee of GOST and a shriller more industrial influence. The combination works, giving a level of brutality that leaves no survivors while still allowing, only just, the 80s qualities of the melodies to hint at their former singular beauty but now obscured by the clashing storm surrounding them.
While this combination of synth sounds is integral to the intensity of the atmosphere much praise must go the percussion employed and exploited in each track. A powerfully charged drum track can bring such greater ferocity to the sound and in 'Maseratiphoïde' we're treated to a thundering and unstoppable beat that is every part as aggressive as their synth partners in crime. The EP's final track 'Chevrolexomyl' offers a brief reprieve as a more subdued ambience is pursued before the track devolves and evolves into a shining light of arpeggiated shock tactics and becomes even symphonic in its final stage. The track seems to cut short, but it sure as hell rocks.
Reznyck presents the MUSCLE CARdiac EP on his Bandcamp page here. I found this record to be as refreshing as it is eviscerating as the mixtures of sounds and melodies make for a markedly brutal and beautiful aesthetic. Though not a staunchly 80s record in a traditional sense, this EP marks yet another small evolutionary step in pushing the darker genres into even darker territory while still leaving a faint neon trail of breadcrumbs back the safety of the 80s and comes very, highly recommended from Synthetix.FM.
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