Digression Assassins 2022
Swedish foursome refine their fierceness to focus on fearsome aspects of melodic bliss.
Sagas
This Stockholm combo have spent 17 years on gradually morphing their style from dirty hardcore to the nicely ordered, if still heavy, progressive rock the quartet confess on this four-track EP on many a level, including graphical one. The mini-album may not live to its own title, as there’s but one piece that can be considered an epic, yet the ensemble’s elegant, acoustically laced sonics demonstrate immense depth from the beginning, and the jangly groove the group offer on the flamenco-tinctured “Nostalgia” – whipped into a frenzy by Andrés Breuer Torres’ drums and fueled with David Catala’s voice – is just as vigorous on the aforementioned “The Longest Journey”: the record’s parting gift. Factor in lush vocal harmonies which fill the strategically placed bluesy lapses in Zoran Bronco’s guitar and Sergio Aracena Pino’s bass assault, and the collective’s shift will feel more and more appealing with each new spin of every track.
However, nothing should prepare the listener for Chuck Berry licks that shoot through “The Nightshade Delirium” whose arresting riffs are bound to keep the old aficionado and new fan alike on their toes, as the band revel in a supercharged rage, before channeling its sly innocence into a sludgy coda and carefully remove subtlety from the chthonic, albeit blistering, spell and chant of “The Empress” which hark back to the band’s chaotic past. Such is the setting for the album’s folk-informed finale, where a twin set of six strings weaves a riveting tapestry – an aural travelogue revealing all the entire scope of the ensemble’s current route. A brilliant offering.
*****
