The Infinity Ring unleashes Nemesis and Nativity (Profound Lore Records) which is full of gothic ambiance. The album is dark and haunting with melancholic themes. The melodies are slow and brooding with ominous sounds. The Infinity Ring captures this sense of dark romanticism and creates a moody, evocative atmosphere with Nemesis and Nativity.
Take the song ‘Crown of Stars’. It can be said it’s Egyptian mummy creepy, full of images of dark browns and oranges. The song sets a scene of sconces on the wall and a group of black clothing clad people chanting around a sacrifice. ‘Crown of Stars’ has a haunting, eerie quality, with slow deliberate rhythms and melodies that create a sense of foreboding and unease.
Another stand-out track is ‘Temptress’. The vocals evoke Fields of the Nephilim and Sisters of Mercy with that same dark gothic ambiance. ‘Temptress’ is very nineteen eighties being sat in a darkened room on bean bags with lava lamps illuminating the walls while illicit substances make the group turn their minds inward. ‘Wax & Oil’ is like dungeon music. It is part dark and depressive. But the song creates a sense of tension, danger, and exploration.
‘Pan & Syrinx’ is all of 75 seconds long. It is like the beginning of a Tori Amos song, brooding, and with plaintive piano. For those who don’t know, Pan was known for his mischievous and playful nature in mythology. Syrinx was a nymph who was pursued by Pan. To escape him, she transformed herself into a stand of reeds. Pan, unable to find her, cut the reeds down and fashioned them into a set of pipes, which he then used to create his music. These pipes were known as the syrinx, after the nymph who had transformed into them. In some versions of the myth, Pan was said to have fallen in love with the sound of the syrinx and carried it with him everywhere he went, playing it whenever he wanted to create music or attract the attention of other nymphs.
‘Pan & Syrinx’ segues into ‘Gift of Light’ which has a Nick Cave feel. ‘Gift of Light’ has sense of dark romanticism and a moody, evocative atmosphere. It feels like one is drowning in the Marianas Trench, extreme pressure and shrouded in darkness.
The entire album could have been part of the soundtrack to the Marvel TV show Legion. It’s very trippy, dark psychedelic, eighties and nineties gothic, acid-induced atmosphere. Nemesis and Nativity can evoke a wide range of emotions and feelings, and some people may find that listening to Nemesis and Nativity, which has a melancholic and moody quality, can be a cathartic or meaningful experience.
While others listening will lose track of the passage of time and fall prey to the darkness and moodiness the songs evoke. With the Infinity Ring, listeners can appreciate the emotional depth and complexity of Nemesis and Nativity.
Buy the album here:
https://theinfinityring.bandcamp.com/album/nemesis-nativity
7 / 10
VICTORIA ANDERSON