Genre/Influences: Industrial, Dark-Electro.

Format: Digital, CD, Vinyl.

Background/Info: One year after the astonishing “Asphyxia”-album the Brooklyn, NY (USA) based Statiqbloom strikes back with their fifth opus to date. It’s the second one released on Metropolis.

Content: The band claims to compose Post-Industrial music and that’s a definition, which totally matches with the global sound approach of this work. Several songs remind me of the obscure and tormented style of early Skinny Puppy, which has been transposed into a very own sonic mould. The atmosphere hanging over the tracks remains the main characteristic of the band, appearing a kind of trademark! But you’ll also notice harder, danceable cuts while other passages reveal some minimalism. The spooky production of the vocals creates a symbiosis with the sound. Notice by the way that the song “The second Coming” is featuring Metal singer Attila Csihar.

+ + + : “Beneath The Whelm” moves on there where “Asphyxia” stopped. It remains an album supported by dense and overwhelming Ambient atmospheres, but they this time moved a step further creating a sonic bridge with early Dark-Electro/Industrial music reminding the Skinny Puppy years from the late 80s. There’s an intelligent and sophisticated song writing resulting in multiple attention grabbers.  The song together with Attila Csihar is a magic piece of Dark-Electro/Industrial music.

– – – : I’m just missing a few more club-orientated tracks at this album.

Conclusion: Statiqbloom is a very particular project; clearly related to other bands and specific genres although featuring a very personal sound.

Best songs: “The Second Coming”, “Restless”, “Ghost Deep”, “Black Lava”, “Alcestis”.

Rate: (8).

Artist: www.facebook.com/statiqbloom

Label: www.metropolis-records.com / www.facebook.com/MetropolisRecords