A year ago today, Dead Battery was involved in an accident that resulted in him being in a coma. After two weeks in the ICU, he awoke and subsequently started on what has become Chapter 1 of his Recovery album.
Generally when we receive a press release, we do everything we can to avoid sounding like the press release. However, when an email came along with Dead Battery‘s new work, along with his breathtaking story, we decided we had no choice but to share the verbatim telling of this musical journey created by Kannibalen Records, the artist’s home label, and Suicide Sheep who is partnering on this magnificent, and dare we say megalith release. Chapter 1, Dreaming In The Void, is here, but the expedition has just begun.
The initial chapter of Recovery recounts Dead Battery’s state of pure unconsciousness. One does not know when one is asleep, and with a coma, it is the same way, but deeper. With sparse arrangements dominated by airy pads, warm keys and the occasional vocal, this chapter serves as the darkness that Dead Battery withstood.
Enter into the void with a rugged, but chill dive into the bereft blackness. Bewildering pads and a tepid organ welcome you into the mystifying beginnings of what some might call a miracle. For now, it’s just a mysterious world. “Die Another Day” is a campaign of its own that with life-like percussion and a concluding piano phrase that’s simple, yet profound.
“Nothing Lasts” opens with an insistent introduction. A sort of stage is angelically set by way of anticipation, as though one is in a waiting room, ready for the next step. This dreamlike sequence picks up once the percussion kicks in, and the shakers and keys pull the listener along a presumed path. Vocals patch up the second half of the song as the journey unravels.
Opening with a vocal sample expressing its name, “Leaving The Light” is the concretion of the aphotic experience. It’s a slightly upbeat descension further into the abstract reality. The closing segment summarizes the solidification of the shadow upon Dead Battery; a more complete darkness is now achieved.
A tranquil, yet haunting place is birthed with “Vanished World.” A breathy atmosphere is built, with percussion subtly entering into the space in due time. A female voice of the subconscious speaks through the musical web as things progress into a state of full immersion, where a resilient guitar takes over until being detuned out of existence. That is… until its resiliency fights off against the darkness of death.
We feel as though some intense new TV drama has hit the web, and now season one has finished off on an enticing note. Instead of a television program, it’s pure music, straight from the heart of a man who will forever be affected by what happened to him one year ago. Dead Battery has us intrigued, as these four tracks are only the beginning. If you’re already a fan, you can head over to iTunes to grab a pre-order of Recovery. Stay tuned, as we will make sure to cover each section of this album.
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