Enigmatic Avantgarde Metal entity 夢遊病者 (whose name translates to Sleepwalker) is an oddity on the already odd Sentient Ruin label. This project is known for mixing a veritable cornucopia of genres including Black Metal, Country, Psych Rock, Jazz, and much more on their releases, specifically their previous album Noč Na Krayu Sveta, as well as this one. While that release was more ritualistically tinged, Skopofoboexoskelett (or Snufferdoodle as some folks call it) is an exercise in absurdity that is layered in a pulsating amount of chaos before giving way to a hypnotic end.
By all accounts, an album such as this should not work. “Mirrors Turned Inward”, is, at first listen, an incredibly gnarled bit of Technical Dissonant Black Metal that follows no conventions, and sounds like a mix of the more knotted parts of an act such as Thantifaxath fused with the mind flaying weirdness of a Jared Moran act, such as Ar’lyxkq’wr. On my first listen of the album, I was ready to dismiss it as something that masquerades as genre-bending but is in fact, garbage. I’m glad I decided not to do that, though, because unconventional metal instruments slowly reveal themselves throughout the album. Sax and xylophone make brief appearances here, but it’s not until the next track, “Silesian Fur Coat” that really unconventional instruments make appearances, including a dulcimer, a ney, and a qanun. Vocals throughout the album eschew typical Black Metal shrieks entirely, instead deciding to go for a whispered approach that adds to the dreamlike atmosphere this album exudes the longer it goes on.
It’s not until “The Eagle Flies” that the tone changes entirely on the album. Opening with a didgeridoo, this song and the next, “The Bad Luck That Saved You From Worse Luck” transform the rest of the album from the Avantgarde Black Metal that it started as into a more introspective spaghetti Western-meets-Jazz sound. A melancholic lead guitar meanders throughout the song, culminating in a subtle return of the blackened elements that started the affair. It’s a tight, hypnotic package overall and I am eagerly anticipating the followup, whenever that is. One of the better releases this August.
