Stoneburner – Massdriver (EP – Negative Gain Productions)
Genre/Influences: Dark-electro, industrial, trance-tribal.
Format: Digital.
Background/Info: Steven Archer is clearly spending more efforts in Stoneburner than in Ego Likeness. 2019 has been a very prolific year, seeing this project unleashing a new full length (cf. “Technology Implies Belligerence”) plus several EP’s.
Content: The front cover of this work is clearly a parody of Big Black’s famous album “Atomizer” (1986). I thought I was going to hear a cover album, but Stoneburner released 6 new songs plus 3 remixes.
The songs are driven by elements of trance-, tribal- and industrial music, but “Massdriver” clearly sounds like it is exploring different sonic paths. The music is more into crossover while heavy vocal passages are running through the cuts. Stoneburner has never been that tough, but the songs make sense.
Remixes have been made by Kounter Mezhure, The Secret Light and The Rain Within).
+ + + : Stoneburner didn’t repeat itself. It sounds out of the box, although getting back to more traditional influences. I however like the brutal format of a few songs like “Rustland” and the industrial side running through “The Season Of Worries”, but the most significant cuts are the more recognizable “Let It Come Down”, “ and “All The Wells Are Poisoned Now”. This is a powerful production!
– – – : “Massdriver” sounds globally different from previous works so it clearly stands a bit as a new challenge.
Conclusion: “Massdriver” is not the best way to discover Stoneburner and it isn’t my favorite work to date.
Best songs: “All The Wells Are Poisoned Now”, “Rustland”, “The Season Of Worries”, IdentityByDiagnosis – Kounter Mezhure Remix”.
Rate: (7).
Artist: www.stoneburnerband.com / www.facebook.com/stoneburnerofficial
Label: www.negativegain.com / www.facebook.com/pages/Negative-Gain/212061438836984
About Stoneburner
Stoneburner is the tribal-electronica project Steven Archer created in 2012 alongside his main act, Ego Likeness. Its 2019 album, “Technology Implies Belligerence”, appeared on Negative Gain Productions, with “Massdriver” following in early 2020 among a prolific run of Stoneburner releases that year. Stoneburner signed to COP International in 2021, releasing “Sell Out” and “Spectrum” with production by John Fryer.
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