Statiqbloom are about hard beats, haunting, hallucinogenic, post-industrial electronics. With this information I prepared for my trip.

The scene is set with the industrial sound of chaos. Dark thumping electro with whispering vocals signal “Alcestis”. This takes me back to days of listening to Wumpscut and Front Line Assembly. The dark beat and shadowy echoes are characteristic. In amongst it, “Restless” has a dream-like quality adding to the constantly beating drum and dark utterances. The sound waves take us to an obscure land. Whilst diverting to an occasional electric storm, it’s mechanical and by nature repetitive. “The Second Coming” has the customary start of a horror film, but as an added attraction we have the ugly raspings of Attila Csihar. The mechanical sound machine continues to reverberate. If I were to equate it to something, it would be a big fat nasty giant tramping through a forest and flattening everything in its wake. The same dark electronic path is trodden through “Black Lava” and in fact everything else. Musically, it is hypnotising and atmospheric. “Still Here” pushes the boundary more than most, and manages to be scary, evocative and even catchy in its factory-driven way. It’s more of an invitation to terror than most. Yet in spite of the air of foreboding and shadowy electronic gloom, it’s not hard a storm to weather. With “Last Song” it dies but this album didn’t need an outro as it never reached an epic height in the first place.

“Beneath the Whelm” is exactly what it says on the tin. Its success lies in the vivid depiction of a scary dystopian world.

(6.5/10 Andrew Doherty)

https://www.facebook.com/statiqbloom

https://statiqbloom.bandcamp.com/album/beneath-the-whelm