Human/robot hybrid Electromancy has unleashed their full-length debut, Technopagan. This journey into technical black metal experimentalism features 12 tracks composed by Electromancy mastermind Satyra and performed by robots of their own design.
Technical black metal composed by humans, played by physical robots. In 2018 Satyra was diagnosed with Lyme disease and quickly became too disabled to play instruments anymore. Instead of giving up, they spent the next two years slowly building robots to play instruments for them. The result is Electromancy, the robot metal band. Guitars and drums are played by Satyra’s own DIY robotic designs; their bandmates are manikins, cut up into LED fueled light shows.
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Electromancy’s music is technical black metal, mixing black metal with bits of death metal, experimentalism, and technical composition. The robots aren’t a gimmick, they are core to the sound; allowing textures, patterns, and compositions that are not natural to and sometimes not possible for a human musician. Some of these compositional eccentricities include phasing multiple rhythmic melodies on a single instrument and simply extremely fast and chaotic composition. In addition to the robots, Satyra fills the bass frequencies with a drone horn made from a modified PVC pipe (the resulting instrument is similar to but not quite the same as a didgeridoo). This full, enveloping bass sound creates a grounded floor for the otherwise chaotic music. More than half of this album was painstakingly composed by foot during periods where Satyra’s illness made their hands unusable.
Electromancy’s lyrical themes largely revolve around Satyra’s struggle with a physical disability, the uncertainty of their lifespan with chronic illness, and the spiritual experiences brought on from facing human fragility & mortality so directly (often with surprisingly uplifting conclusions). These musical themes paired with the robotic instrumentation and the story of why this all came to be create a profoundly raw and unique experience.
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Technopagan is available now via Bandcamp and Metal Assault Records
Electromancy: facebook | twitter | instagram | spotify | bandcamp | youtube
