December 2021 Feature Release – The Sphere Edition

So just like that we find that a new month is upon us which of course means that we’ll be nominating a brand new monthly feature release for each clan. This essentially means that we’re asking you to rate, review & discuss our chosen features for no other reason than because we enjoy the process & banter. We’re really looking forward to hearing your thoughts on our chosen releases so don’t be shy.

This month’s feature release for The Sphere has been nominated by myself. It's the 2005 fourth album from French industrial metal/rock outfit Kill The Thrill entitled "Tellurique".

https://metal.academy/releases/1703

OH WOW! Jesus fucking Christ this is an amazing record! I was blown away by the opening track from this album when I discovered it while searching for tracks to include in the monthly The Sphere Spotify playlist some time ago & immediately put "Tellurique" into the memory bank as a record of interest. It's probably been a year or more since that experience but boy am I glad that I remembered to investigate this record because it's right up my alley. I'd probably describe it's basis as sitting somewhere between industrial rock & industrial metal with obvious Godflesh & Killing Joke influences however Kill The Thrill also utilize the sweeping atmospheres, slowly building tension-&-release & crushingly noisy crescendos of post-rock artists like Sigur Ros & Swans in a way that adds significant light & substance to the end result. The vocals of front man Nicolas Dick are full of attitude & charisma too which gives proceedings an air of professionalism that's uncommon in artists that are this underground. In fact, I have to ask why I haven't heard more of Kill The Thrill because they're a class act & this is a top five release for the industrial metal genre for me personally.

For fans of Godflesh, Killing Joke & Jesu.

4.5/5

Just as I start to turn my back on The Sphere clan altogether...

I am yet to fully explore the Killing Joke discography and have limited experience of Swans, but I can hear elements of both in here as Daniel alludes to.  What an emotionally urgent and tense record.  I don't recall hearing anything quite like Soave in a while; a shedding of skin like it is melting from your being.  There is so much here to explore and enjoy that I cannot do it justice by trying to formulate into some description for a review at this early stage.  It has turned my head - I mean it has nearly snapped my neck - and so will be on rotation for a few days.

This sounds more like heavy post-punk and industrial rock with some metal influence rather than an out and out metal album. That's certainly not a complaint and it makes for a very interesting listen. The vocals are what initially stood out and are the highlight for me, possessing that kind of grizzled "cigarettes and whiskey" quality that reminded me of The Pogues' Shane McGowan. Aesthetically, it sounds like a melancholy and sometimes bitter love letter to the rundown industrial towns of a world deep in the process of decay. It has an almost cinematic quality, like watching a black and white movie of strangely beautiful, but terribly neglected, small towns the world over. I haven't heard too many releases quite like this and when the mood strikes I can definitely see myself returning to it for a little sombre reflection.

4/5