Comaduster - Darker Matter (2019)

Now in proud partnership with FiXT, the third full-length Comaduster album from veteran musician, video game sound designer and electronic music producer Réal Cardinal, is here. Titled Darker Matter, the 16 track album delivers a densely packed odyssey of sound and emotion, exploring the realms of IDM, Drum and Bass and post-rock sensibilities while simultaneously merging elements of Americana folk music, djent and doom metal, further accompanied by dark ambient shadows. The album's intricate music production is juxtaposed by powerful vocal performances from Comaduster himself, as well as multiple tracks featuring the talented female vocalist, Mari Kattman.
Though not a concept album -- at least not nearly as much as the previous Comaduster album Solace -- the album is heavily inspired by our deep but incomplete understanding of extreme physics, and metaphysical aspects of our lives. The emotional core is much more personal and direct than anything Cardinal has previously produced, resulting in a darker and grittier atmosphere than previous Comaduster albums.
Exploring themes of occult imagery, alchemic mystery, paradoxical physics, and harsh science fiction, Darker Matter takes on these tropes with musical interpretations pushing into the limitations of digital editing, time-stretching, vocal processing, time signature complexities, labyrinthian rhythm structures, intentional audio abuse and noise artifacts.
The unifying element throughout the 80 minute album journey though is Comaduster himself, the dark mage, responsible for each sonic manipulation as he pushes & pulls listeners through hidden associations and obscurity to interconnectedness and passage through his elaborate maze.