Paresis - Hope Lies Torn

A year and a half in the making, Paresis' debut album finally emerges from his vaults. Simon Fuller, the solo artist in this act, also takes part as the second half of Black Lava, whilst adding an extra bit of Swaggrotech to lunatic Cease2Xist's live performances. Still relatively new to the scene, he's already been able to play alongside such acts as Protafield, Aesthetic Perfection, and even Eisenfunk.

However, those accomplishments aren't nearly as great as this, his labor of love and creation. Fuller has this to say about his album, "With Hope Lies Torn I set myself no limits, and wanted to document my particular journey from blackened rage, political disgust through to complete introspective doom."

Committing everything he had to the album, ceasing complete creative control, including artwork and mixing, this has been a long moment in coming for Fuller. And, now, we're hear to present our judgement.

Introducing us with Not In My Name, I was brought into the fields of a different planet as the dark ambience and sci-fi like noises took over my ears. As the samples come in, so does the guitar work and electronics, a main steady, thumping beat forming. And, with each second that passes in this song, a new noise is added, some new quip to keep the instrumental going, and it kept me hooked.

Then, we're slammed into the middle of a freakish rave with Looking For A Fight. More rough than your regular techno inspired track, the harsh vocals provided within manage to translate an otherwise form fitting tune into something darker. Trance synths join the fray, allowing the song to be even more club worthy than not.

Shooting back into territory that Paresis has hit well on in the past, Anti Me grits its teeth and brings out some more guitar infused electronic work. Adding in a few wobbles toward the later mid-half of the song threw in a nice little touch and surprise to mix up the beat a bit.

A fairly quiet, ambient backed anthem hits in the form of Pigs. For the most part, the vocals are gone aside from the occasional shout here and there. It's not till past the half way mark that a heavier beat forms, and Fuller's devilishly delicious chords come ringing in.

Replacer was actually a single that served as an appetizer for this full length album, and I've covered it in the past. In short, and to not repeat myself again: It's a track that's good, and you really just shouldn't skip over.

Spirit Hack drove back the harsh qualities, and brought a more soothing round out. While I do appreciate the overall instrumentation and electronic work present in it, the dual set of vocals between the 1:40 and 2:00 minute marks that worked against one another rather than with each other did not sound all that great to me. At all. HOWEVER, both sets of chords sang in unison for the rest of the song, so that was managed well. Still, I don't think I'd be able to go back through this song.

Another half-instrumental, half vocally supported track, Shall I Come had moments that were good, and then moments that were breathtaking. The harsh work that was done in the beginning with clashes of metal and electronics was nice sounding. After the first take of vocal work set in, at the 2:12 mark, a synth set appeared and lasted for about fifty seconds. Where it came from, I don't know, but the influence it had on the rest of the track turned it out to be an absolute winner.

Coming off a high note, I eagerly sunk my teeth right into I'm You. Combining elements of futurepop with Paresis' overall sound, it maintained a fresh feeling on the album. With Your Voice. more frenzied instrumental sections that varied from one genre to the next hit in, and it served its purpose well.

All Because Of You wasn't as fast paced nor as hard hitting as a lot of the other tracks, but its slower rhythm and focus on electronics turned out well. The constantly coming and going of the short bleeping electronic notes was a nice touch, and Fuller's whispers kept in line with the overall beat.

And, lastly, Wrecked came in as both the final track and the longest, nearly stretching out to eight minutes. In short, this was definitely more on the side of industrial metal, though plenty of electronics were found within. And, to put it bluntly, I think this song is the definition of what Paresis tries to accomplish. Not only is it one of the best songs I've heard in a while, I think it's the best song Fuller's ever produced underneath this moniker. The overall epic sound, mix and just complete knowledge of every instrument and sound within Wrecked demonstrated not only his love for music making, but also his continued mastering and maturing as a musician. Perfect in all other words.

And, completely blowing my mind and surprising me at the end of the album was a touch I was not prepared for. Dumbfounded by that last act of both will and love, the rest of the album was boosted up immensely just by that. Bringing in all sorts of influences and genres to this playground, Fuller has shown that he can compete with the biggest names of the scene, and I have a feeling that this man will go further and further with each sequential release. Oct 19 2014