Review: Radian ‘Subterfuge’
What if Ancient Egypt never fell? Would we live in a world of massive modern pyramids ruling our skylines? Would funerals be a more intense and ritualistic affair? Would the band Nile still be around? Ohio sludgers Radian have returned with their third effort Subterfuge, a collaboration with their own label El Burno Records and Third House Communications.
A concept album dealing with a familiar motif of a lone individual facing off against an oppressive reality (think 2112, The Wall, Operation: Mindcrime), Subterfuge tells the tale of an alternate reality where Ptolemaic Egypt never fell to Rome, and has continued into the present day under the rule of a tyrannical cabal of elites (just like today!). It continues their brand of stripped-down sludge with a blend of clean and harsh vocals.
Toothless Wolf with a bruising barrage of down-tuned guitar abuse accompanying lyrics that seem to tell of a speaker addressing an assembly – ‘I stand before you today, asking you to persuade yourself into analyzing and rejecting this dismay’. Spiraling Ash picks up the pace with a more driving stoner vibe, concluding with a slowed-down bluesy tempo.
a bruising barrage of down-tuned guitar abuse…
Things take a bit of a subdued, almost funeral doom approach with the ten-minute Fathom, which depicts a slow crawl into agony, but capping off with some aggressive double bass drumming. The title track boasts some nicely gnarled distorted bass, and the closer Fluidity is a very pleasant ambient instrument number, somewhat reminiscent of Jesu.
At the risk of sounding harsh, my problem with Subterfuge is that the music is simply outweighed by the lofty concept story of the album itself. To my ears, Radian just isn’t bringing anything terribly unique to the sludge table. There weren’t really any riffs, melodies or overall song structures that jumped out at me.
The actual lore of the concept sounded fantastic and interesting, as I have always found alternate speculative history to be pretty cool. The problem is that the concept isn’t buoyed by music that is dynamic and memorable. I wish Radian all the best and hope they continue to demolish their amplifiers and write music. Perhaps their true opus is soon to come.
Label: El Burno Records | Third House Communications
Band Links: Facebook | Bandcamp | Spotify | Instagram
