Mad Masks, the enigmatic French Alps-based Experimental /Industrial / Dark Ambient instrumental project made of ‘Zio Voodoo’ and ‘Dominique Stela’, have shared a music video for “Nex”, taken from the just released third self-titled album, “Mad Masks”, through Le Label Beige Records.
Combining austerity and restraint, the nine-minute long “Nex” is a visceral and arcane slow throbbing polyrhythmic cinematic piece, where steady military snare rolls, laced with dull knocking percussions, relentlessly churn with sinister vibrating low-pitched drones, tension-building obsessive shrilled layers, scary muted screams, and persistent ghostly slivers, to create an engulfing, hypnotic pain-filled ambience that grows like a seething fever, evoking forgotten rituals, distant omens, and dire profound broodings.
Then, a slight fade out about halfway through begets a newborn martial rhythmic clarity, setting the stage for an emotional emergence with layers of flutey keyboard swathes and melancholic shivering strings weighted with ancestral tragedy and steadfast purpose.
A strange and disturbing, albeit enlightening, paired visuals blend light and shadow with geometric shapes, murky textures, and flickering effects to sync with the tenebrous yet glowing soundtrack. The depth of vision appears to shorten over the 9:11 time span, causing the objects to become closer and larger. It almost looks as if one is inside their own body looking outward, through the tissue and fluids, whilst a dirty, corroded film rolls and blocks the line of sight.
Mad Masks’ third album, “MAD MASKS”, is out now, in Ltd. Digipack CD & Digital (ft. 9 previously unreleased tracks) formats, via Le Label Beige Records.
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