Kardeshev - Alunea

This has easily been one of my favorite bands in the last 3 years. So yeah, just expect that will be what you read about in the next few minutes. Since this album came out in May, it’s been on constant rotation; if not by itself, then in a playlist with just a few others. I have to practically peel myself away from it.

So what is it? Well… I don’t know exactly how to put it into words. The whole album is a conversation between two people/entities. It makes way more sense than it sounds. It’s a progressive and atmospheric driven album, and it’s got just about everything you might expect from a progressive record, if you dipped it in melodeath and added some drone and deathcore sprinkles.

Let’s just get this started. I’ve got a lot to say.

Okay, so this album isn't a bunch of "verse chorus" type of record; it's a story from beginning to end. So if you're expecting a repeated chorus, you'll only find maybe one resemblance of one on the record. I'll be the first to admit here that I am not typically into formats like this. I usually need something to latch onto to keep me engaged and waiting for it, but this album takes a very unique approach to that problem. Which is the first point I'll make.

You aren't listening to this record as a whole, nor are you listening for the amazing chorus of each song. You're either listening to envelope yourself into the story, or you're listening for moments in the record that hit really hard. The problem I typically have with the "progressive" or "drone" genres of music is that they build up to a single moment. The build and release concept that music nerds tend overhype and praise, with all the theory and definitions to back it up. Alunea isn't that, in fact, each part serves a purpose, and each part seems to have been written to create tiny moments, and these end up being your hooks on the album.

Let's take an example; the second track on the album is "Reunion." It starts off with a clean guitar and some drums, catchy melody with a bass line leading, takes a few seconds to build into a the next part, which is fast and heavy. In this section, there's a memorable guitar lick, the vocals have a catchy cadence even though they're pretty extreme. During the section, there's a couple of breaks, surprise riffs, and it melts into another clean part with clean vocals. We're only two minutes into the song, you've heard a lot, and it isn't just filler to get to the climax. During the clean part, the focus is entirely on the vocals, you now have to pay attention to the story, which builds into another heavy part, which has the same riff as the prior heavy part, but it's structured differently. During this section, there's also a really cool part where it has a mini-breakdown part, and it just suddenly halts and opens up very wide into a soaring part at the end with a vocal delivery that will stick with you.

All of the songs take you on a journey like this. They aren't focused on climaxes and atmosphere, they are focused on building you a world to immerse into, and take you on the journey in that world and they do that beautifully. All the while, you hit parts that just melt you away, so when you replay a song, you know you're listening to this song for these parts, and not for a chorus. It's not the progressive mindset of 7 minutes of boring slop to get to a good part.

So this album and each song has something that almost no other music really has - which is flow. It isn't just random builds, cool parts, etc. - it's a story. Both musically and lyrically (but we'll get to that). Yes, there's a lot of soft to heavy, heavy to soft extremes throughout the record, but they contain purpose, reason, and there's intent for the way they flow into each other, which doesn't make them "so random lol" or for shock value, but rather to carry the story along.

I love also the way each individual in this band has quite a unique approach to the way they write. You'll notice the guitars never focus on flashiness of technicalities or riffs, instead focusing on creating moods and tones, while also maintaining a sense of melody. It's not noise, it's articulated. The bass is a strange beast here because it sits so forward and often leads in melody, creates chaos, and knows when to shine and step back. The drums know they are there to create tension and release, and they do a fantastic job at it, taking it from one extreme to the next, and also being fairly absent when needed. The vocals lead, but man they get wild throughout the record. There was so much intention in them, I cannot help but appreciate it.

I am going to pre-empt the lyric section for a second to show a point here as well; a good piece of this record involves a made up language, stuff you can't understand naturally. Even with that... language barrier(?), the music itself takes you on a roller coaster of emotions. The vocals are literally an instrument as much as they are delivering a message. I cannot express how much I wish most metal bands would treat vocals closer to this, more than just vocal screaming acrobatics, or some tribalistic rhythm or something.

Layers. Before you even read further, just know the lyrics are covered, slaughtered, stacked, and seasoned in layers. It doesn't matter how much you listen, or even watch their "lore" videos, there's just so much. I could make a whole section of this site dedicated to how I interpret them, how they make me feel, and all the questions I have to reflect on after listening... and know, that I haven't even decoded the Alunean language parts to know what they mean.

Ugh... where to start and end here. I'll give you a basic overview, then I'll tell you about how this album gave me a ton of goosebump moments, and then I'll tell you some of my own discoveries throughout the album.

Basic Overview - There are no explanations. There is no disposition. Every word on this album is a conversation between this... created being Atlas, and this guy the album calls Sky-Brother. Yes I know there's more lore behind it. For the sake of time, that's it. The album is about them two conversating about purpose, creation, and feeling. Atlas is often referred to as having "code" - so there's this sense that he's not fully human or being, but maybe part machine. He definitely seems to experience human emotion, maybe through all the memories of humanity he has.

Goosebump Moments - The lyrics, once I really thought about them, gave me chills many times. In the very first song, without any context, at the end, there's this line - "I should not have gone... should is a word I can't find." I got chills just writing that... it's so deep. "Reunion" boasts several lines, but the end is beautiful, specifically the line "I've finally found you, weaving words into the air." I am trying not to honestly dump every part here. So here's just a few lines, maybe you'll find as you listen, and you'll understand why they hit so hard -

• "Hold each blade of grass you've grown with words you've spoken"
• "It was creation without sight, it was one thousand open doors"
• "Speak it all away, name it all away, I'm waiting, finding, seeking"
• "There is a truth in your being, Atlas"
• "Your protestation is proof that I am justified, there is not a single word that you've said that wasn't entwined with pain"
• "You insult me with hope, Abusing your creation with delusional greed"
• "Through the vines a fawn at night drank from the stars, my steps drove her away"
• "There was nothing there for me and my joy, it dies alone"
• "What right is given to a mind without a code inside it's core"

Understanding The Story - So no, I don't have all the answers here. I don't think I ever will. One of these days, I may even decode the Alunean language and figure out even more. So I'll spend just a touch of time here.

This album seems to start with this being created with almost God-like powers, the ability to create worlds. Not sure exactly where he came from, but maybe from the Chilagon thing they mention. It seems as though humanity is gone, and this thing is the last hope for it. The Sky-Brother is there when he awakes, and man is he excited this guy is here! Immediately it seems, dude wakes up and Sky-Brother is like "you're amazing! Do all these things that you were made to do NOW!" - and this is the beginning of the experience. It takes literally 3 songs for the being to realize he doesn't even have a name, so he make his own Atlas, because of memories of the world being on his shoulders, which gives you an idea about how he feels about all this. He's just being hyped up and told what to do. He's being praised for it, but Sky-Brother... just keeps talking past him. It's almost as if he doesn't even care for Atlas, but rather for what Atlas can do, at some points almost ignoring his pain and suffering and just being like "you weren't made to do this, why are you doing this" and Atlas just gets more and more frustrated and depressed. Sky-Brother just doesn't quite seem to respect him as a being, but rather as a thing meant for a purpose and that's it. It's all meant for him, as to use Atlas to correct his own mistakes and sorrow. I won't spoil the end, you listen.

It raises a lot of questions throughout the album. It questions purpose, feelings, work, and justice. I felt a lot for Atlas throughout this album. It seems sometimes that people don't care or love you, but rather only what you can do. It's a sad state of affairs. The more you fight, the more you're told to stand down. The more you're told about your purpose. Pain and suffering don't matter much to others. I still to this day, have all sorts of thoughts throughout this record.

I have incessantly played this album since it came out. So many layers both musically and lyrically, and every listen I connect in a different way. There are no skips on this album. There's not a single part of a song that doesn't have a meaning, purpose, or moment.

"Liminal Rite" - their previous record - was also the same way, however, there are a few tracks I skip. There's a lot of drone and meandering in that album, but it was still one of my favorite albums of the last... decade. I couldn't honestly imagine them topping that album, because most of the previous records... just weren't my thing. I figured they always mentioned that it wasn't part of the story they've been building, so when I heard Alunea was coming, I figured it would've been a return to roots, and I would only be left with Liminal Rite.

Man was I wrong. Alunea is everything amazing about Kardashev without all the stuff I personally didn't enjoy. From front to back, and even the artwork and lore... it's incredible.

I love many albums, but sometimes you just know... "this album is something that I'll be listening to 20 years from now." This is one of those records for me. The last time I felt this way about a record was Rivers of Nihil - Where Owls Know My Name. I still think about and return to that album and enjoy it.

Anyway, the dissertation is over. Hope you had fun, go listen to it more so they can continue to make music!