God Body Disconnect – The Weight Of Regression (Album – Cryo Chamber)
Genre/Influences: Cinematic, Dark-Ambient.
Format: Digital, CD.
Background/Info: Bruce Moallem unleashed the eighth album of his God Body Disconnect project this year. It remains a very personal music odyssey; kind of sonic canvas to express and exorcize some of his deepest thoughts. The new work is ‘based on his experiences in psychiatric hospitals, mental illness, and a chaotic past, Bruce serves us a harrowing story dealing with traumas, regrets, and gnawing thoughts of revenge.’
Content: God Body Disconnect doesn’t innovate but moves on there where previous work stopped. The music serves as poignant Cinematic exposure where you get the feeling of watching a movie/documentary without images. It sounds dark and ghost-like because of the narrating vocal parts which became a trademark of the artist. Long and abyssal compositions are inviting the listener to face the artist’s inner demons and traumatic experiences when he was hospitalized in psychiatry. The album also features more evasive -although still dark, Ambient parts featuring guitar play and slow rhythms.
+ + + : Music composition remains maybe the best cure to exorcize personal experiences. The album reflects an expressive atmosphere which I think is perfectly fitting to the traumatic theme of the work. It feels uncomfortable and even tormented. You in a way can imagine the fright and disorientation of Moallem. The long duration tracks have been built up to a crescendo to reach a final stage of angst. The visual appeal of the work is omnipresent while accentuated by the spooky, narrating, vocals. “Remnants Of A Soldier” is a brilliant exposure of the work and its theme. I also enjoyed the dark, dreamy, parts played with guitar and driven by a slow cadence.
– – – : The album stands for expression and to feel its density you definitely have to listen to the work in the right circumstances. It’s not the most classical Cinematic sound experience so it might take time to get into the work of this project.
Conclusion: This work sounds as a sonic testimony hiding an inner pain the listener can’t feel but we can only enjoy the beauty of this artistic juxtaposition.
Best songs: “Remnants Of A Soldier”, “Sometimes It Feels Like Hope”, “Dosed And Dreaming”, “Shackled By You”.
Rate: 8½.
Artist: www.facebook.com/godbodydisconnect
Label: www.cryochamberlabel.com / www.facebook.com/CryoChamber
About God Body Disconnect
God Body Disconnect is the solo dark-ambient and cinematic project of Bruce Moallem, releasing on Cryo Chamber since 2016. Earlier albums include “Sleeper’s Fate” in 2017. Side-Line spoke with Moallem in a Click Interview about the project. “The Weight Of Regression” is his eighth solo album, drawing on his experiences in psychiatric hospitals across seven tracks.
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I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.
