20.SV

APOCALYPTIC DESERT - REVIEW 04

Review from Heathen Harvest: http://www.heathenharvest.com

Nuclear holocaust in music will probably grab more brain cells that are occupied with heavy metal and hard rock bands, mainly from the eighties and unfortunately from our decade as well, with tight leather band members singing about the impending doom that the cold war was threatening us little people with. Times have passed and empires fell and grew and we are now standing near another cold war. So in addition to the veteran bands, we might be facing a new wave of bands that grew on the laps of Megadeth and Gamma Ray and that will sing to us about the new atom bomb and get their money on the way. Nevertheless, how do you expect to grasp the disaster, the danger and the damage with electric guitars and high-pitched singing? This is a joke and it cannot be done. If you think you can describe such a disaster with mere words and guitar solos, you are in for a grim surprise.

Now some people know that, like Xardas from 20.SV, for instance. His third album, following the brilliant “Insects” album, Apocalyptic Desert clearly shows that in order to explain such unimaginable disaster, you have to bring the beast to the ears of the listener, as understanding this powerful being is not done with brains, but with experiencing it.

20. SV begins this apocalyptic torture with a distorted but low grunt, like a beast waking up. From that point onwards, there will be more and more pressure with each passing moment, as layer upon layer of over distorted waves of sound. This is a slow and painful process of post trauma and Xardas indeed paints a hostile desert with his weaponry. He tries to check the listener’s endurance by turning up the heat more and more, until it is too much, and then some more. Each distorted blow is like a dry wind hitting the eyes; each shriek feels like inhaling the toxic air and each bass boom makes it clear how hopeless this situation is. The tenth minute brings a piercing melody and with it, the surrounding sound becomes crunchy and almost static with harsh distortion. The game on this album is simple. You wanted a desert of death you got it.

There comes a certain point when this torture becomes meditative with its monotony (A good thing!) and this is the point when, as it was said earlier, this becomes a place not for the brain. Instead, it makes the body absorb everything, absorb the harsh assault with surrender and accept the fatality that Xardas had brought. A suitable follow up to his second album, lets see where he is going from here…