Behold The Arctopus - Hapeleptic Overtrove
SKU
P2 BTA
Colin Marston: Warr guitar
Mike Lerner: guitar guitar
Jason Bauers: percussion
So, look. This thing is amazing. BTA have always been amazing, but in the past, they’ve been recognizably ‘metal’. Now? Well, the guitars are heavy as always, of course and they move at the speed of light, but latest drummer Jason Bauers has brought his experience as a classical percussionist to the fore here and this is like the unlikely, unwanted, and completely insane meeting of thorny, ‘modern contemporary classical music’, if any of them were writing pieces meant to be performed by a percussionist and two metal guitarists. Hugely recommended.
“Is anyone else tired of how painfully slow metal has evolved recently compared to how quickly innovations occurred at the end of the last century? Think about how drastic and surprising changes were in the 5 years between 1988 and 1993, versus how stagnant metal between 2015 - 2020 has been. On Hapeleptic Overtrove, Behold the Arctopus shows the utmost respect for the true spirit of extreme metal: a musical world that should challenge the audience to listen to and think about things in new ways, while reveling in mystery, surprise and excess which is simultaneously baroque and primitive.
Colin Marston (Warr guitar) and Mike Lerner (guitar guitar) are joined by drummer Jason Bauers (previously of Psyopus), who has brought his experience with classical percussion to the table, allowing the drums to become another melodic voice, rather than just a metric skeleton.
For the new compositions, inspiration was drawn from the non-traditional setup of English free jazz drummer Tony Oxley, and the percussion music of 20th century composers Iannis Xenakis, Edgard Varese, and Elliott Carter. The drum kit for the new album removes extreme metal's constant harsh static wash by deleting all hi-hats, crashes, and ride cymbals, replacing them with almglocken, wooden plank, metal pipe, broken stacks, and bell/chimes.
Sticks are replaced by mallets, and, more importantly, the function of the drums is no longer to play "beats." Instead the drums take on a role more similar to the guitars, resulting in a sound closer to chamber music than rock.”
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