Industrial pioneers, Attrition, are gearing up to set another brilliant release into the world with the forthcoming album "The Black Maria". The brainchild of industry legend, Martin Bowes, Attrition continue their decades old tradition of marrying classical instrumentation with modern mechanical noise, and on "The Black Maria", it is honed to a razor's cutting edge. The 8 tracks that make up "The Black Maria" are the audio equivalent of a surrealist artist's darkest painting, like a dream of Salvador Dali turned into music. Violins sing softly in the distance, while the bang and thrum of both drums and heavy bass vie for dominance the higher pitches of tambourines and operatic vocals. Peppering through like rivets puncturing steel are Martin's softly growled soliloquys, bringing an ambience that further haunts the aural atmosphere with his operatic counterpart. The album ambience is set perfectly with the opener "The Promise", droning softly as both singers command the listener to "Be silent...speak when spoken to". The music shifts perfectly into the up-tempo shuffle of "The Great Derailer". Further on into the album, "The Alibi" brings a stomp-worthy energy of danceable electronics and distorted guitars to accompany a creepy viola and olde-time piano licks, something that both Rivet-heads and Steam Punks would agree to dance to.
Closing out the album is the opus of the "The Black Maria". All the elements of the previous tracks come together, for one dramatic company front, bringing the album to a satisfying conclusion that still stays with you long after the last notes fade into the ether. "The Black Maria" will be released on March 23rd, 2024, and it is well worth the wait.
Standout Track: "The Alibi".
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