With the lingering tone of a single sustained guitar chord, Fear Falls Burning opens up a world of sound that is improbably consoling and petrifying at once. Launched in the bitter winter of 2005 as a channel for vidnaObmana’s love of post-rock music, the solo act was forged in the sludge of drone music and rose through an elaborate collection of effects pedals and sound processors.
Drone music isn’t for everyone. Acts like Sunn O)), Earth, and the collaboration of Brian Eno and Robert Fripp (No Pussyfooting) can disaffect some fans who like their music to actively pursue itself. Drone music requires patience and imagination, as the stories unfurl naturally through the waves of sound and push the listener to new levels of perception.
With Frenzy of the Absolute, Fear Falls Burning lays a foundation for three monstrous tracks of classic drone. The music simmers, the sound waves soak the listener in an unconventional sonic universe, and escape is not an option.
While Sunn O)) and Earth certainly pack their music with earth-shattering bass, the drone of Fear Falls Burning is more reflective of the higher range. The pulsations of noise occupy a broader musical realm and don’t simply push up against the subwoofer in a pissing contest, as some other drone is prone to do. Instead, the music on Frenzy pushes through the haze and reaches stunning and often heavenly sonic heights.
The first of the three tracks, “Frenzy of the absolute,” is an expansive 21 minutes of resonance and grain. Various visuals emerge from the murkiness, as one can almost picture a crowd of mystical mammoths making their way through an early morning field. The visual image one concocts with the music is part of the fun, as the experience of Fear Falls Burning certainly benefits more from an imaginative mind.
The second track, “He contemplates the sign,” is haunting and almost troublesome. Waves of noise introduce the listener to a world from which a quick escape would be preferable, but there is nothing swift about this album. Instead, the listener is damned to reflection and is alone, frantic, scared.
Finally, the third track, “We took the deafening murmur down,” is introduced with a set of guitar chords that almost vivaciously breaks through the smoke. But something about the way Fear Falls Burning pulsates and toys with his Les Paul here is disconcerting and the listener is quickly introduced to more soul-crushing drone.
Frenzy of the Absolute is superb. It is expansive and menacing, frustrating and fear-provoking, brave and strangely obscure. Fear Falls Burning has constructed a beautiful drone record that deserves patience and imagination from its listener.
Article comments