Album review: Sleepsculptor – Divine Recalibration

By DAN SOUTHALL

SLEEPSCULPTOR is a band that this reviewer hadn’t encountered before. Not because they are bad or I am indifferent, simply because there is so much music constantly around that plenty falls between the cracks. It’s all the more amazing considering this band plays exactly the kind of chaos that tickles my brain. Think The Chariot or Five Star Prison Cell, or more recently the Callous Daoboys… that’s right – chaos boiled down to some kind of musical art form that is difficult to explain and, for some, even more difficult to listen to.

Getting down to business, ‘Shattered Nerve’ opens proceedings with all the swivel eyed lunacy you can expect from a band like this, with extra widdly guitar to make sure you are paying attention, belting you around the ears for a couple of minutes.

This is the modus operandi for the opening chunk of the album, as you would expect. There are certain parts where their vocalist is less unhinged lunatic and more straight ahead hardcore barker, and these moments break the tracks up more than the relentless battering from the rest of the band.

This begins to change slightly after ‘Lavage de Cerveau’ that serves as a quiet musical interlude allowing for a quick minute of introspection. For the next few tracks, Sleepsculptor continue on their mathy musical excursion but allow more breathing room amongst the maelstrom, particularly notable on ‘Beyond The Veil’. From here they continue to batter your ears into some kind of bleak submission.

Subtlety is not something they are interested in. If you’re after melody and something to just bang your head to, then this possibly isn’t what you’re looking for. For music as chaotic as possible, Divine Recalibration is one of the best starting points so far this year.