It occurred to me recently that a lot of us misunderstand identity. Through the shifting and evolving social landscape, people latch onto ideals, develop lexicons of acceptable language and behavior to legitimize one’s status in whatever ‘community’ one has sought after. Conversely, the further and further one adopts and adheres to those chosen rules the further and further they get away from the natural human condition; the gray periphery that is more aligned with truth and reality than human social orders can attain.
Mizmor is an anomaly. Much like Austin Lunn, Dwid Hellion, and Damián Ojeda, M.W.S. (Hell) & A.L.N. (Mizmor) don’t feel restrained to anything in particular, and allows their work to follow whatever path they are. There aren’t any particular guidelines seemingly in his composition. Much like a winding river in the dead of night, you simply have no idea where each track is going to go. Blurred genre lines doesn’t really describe what A.L.N. does, because genre has no power over their art. It’s just all fucking heavy. The complete rejection of genre label enables A.L.N. to roam freely mixing dark shades to develop a compositional gem.
Never having missed an opportunity for exploration, Hell developed a hefty back catalog of respectable doom and stoner albums that have legitimized their standing in the genre. With their last release, M.S.W. enveloped further influences into the fold, showing more dedication to experimentation, more along the lines of what Mizmor has been doing. Tradition for both of them have seemed to melt away, and with that, it begs the question, what can two underground metal auteurs do together?
We got the answer to that exact question back in February, with single “Pandemonium’s Throat”. That particular track dabbles in slowcore tendencies, with a dark ambiance that bubbles just above the rim, before stretching out into a darker tinged version of what Dylan Carlson might cook up before the blackened vocals evolve it into its second form of a sludge fever dream before ending in raw as fuck folky black metal fury. Its cathartic dread draped everything and gave clear indication what was to come.
Balancing dark delicacy with piercingly sharp shifting heaviness, “Begging to be Lost” takes its time to clear the way, as if soundtracking the last few steps of a fruitless journey. More so later, when the drone sets in, both acts allow Sunn O))y tendencies to meander and stretch out that should satisfy even the most skeptical droners. The track spans 16 minutes, and unravels as an opus microcosm in of itself. It encourages the listener’s time and space to let their thoughts wander amongst a heavy backdrop, but also takes and demands attention when the vocals crack through and roar. Without hyperbole, it’s genuinely one of the best pieces of recorded music of the year, and should be given incredible consideration, recognition.
M.S.W.’s evolution through this work opens a new chapter of refined restraint, with a new added strength. Basslines buoy through the background acting like tips of white caps on the wave before the thud brings them down to lower and lower lows. His compositional attribution is as equal as it can be, with a mix of details that flourish. The heavy handed 2 ton chop riffage feels so dense it could leave indention marks, but it’s not clear who is handling what, and it doesn’t matter given every element is in place, and presented in a thoughtful representation that makes it all cohesive, and work.
When A.L.N. talked to Everything is Noise back in 2023, there was a particular point he made when describing to Jake about his creative process: ‘Okay, it may not be perfect but is it good enough? It is. Let’s move on.’ It’s a simple phrase with no context, but having heard what A.L.N. does brings it into a particular light that illuminates something that’s not technically ‘perfect’ but in having letting that go gives way to a more natural and genuine production, if flawed, and raw art. That mark, and development gives layers of richness to what he can do.
Alluvion flourishes in the dark. It maneuvers effortlessly in heavy space after heavy space resembling the crushing weight of an untamed ocean thrashing anything and everything it wants. That lack of concern with perfection, and development and evolution of experience shows both artists operating anew in a space that would exist on the spectrum of each artist’s individual efforts respectfully. The tranquil elements evaporate with ease, while the pricklier composition juts and maneuvers around, then through.
When we let go of identity, a lot of things can happen. It gives way to new energy and inspiration. Letting go of creative control to enable collaboration reduces the necessity of an anchor. The shared duties, and commitment to collaboration gives birth to something entirely new. Both artists’ identifying marks are prevalent through Alluvion, and respectfully represent the roads that led here; however, neither one of their previous albums sound anything too much like Alluvion sounds. That is its benefit, and its strength. I’m fairly confident each artist involved knows that, and presented an incredibly remarkable piece of heavy art.
