Style: Industrial black metal
Primary Emotions/Themes: The synthesis of humanity and machine into one
Thoughts: Y is a thought experiment conducted through music. It begs the question, what is man and what is machine? What are the two of them to each other? Can they coexist? Can they be one and the same?
All things must evolve. If they do not, then they wither and die to the ever changing times. Humanity is no exception, we must evolve or we are to die in this tomb we call earth. As we evolve so does the music we create.
Borgne's art is that of synthesis. A fully realized symbiosis of machine and man - creating something that is greater than anything we could hope to be individually... at least that appears to be the argument that their music is making.
Y is the direct continuation of [∞] in that it takes the ambient, industrial, and black metal elements and forces them together. They are no longer distinct entities, rather they have all been assimilated into the entity known as Borgne. Resistance is futile.
Whereas the previous album seemed to have the band exploring different facets of their sound, Y comes across razor focused. They have cut all the chaff and thrown it to the wind, there is zero filler here. When I read descriptions like that it makes me worry that the album sounds samey and that I'll become bored in short order - especially when the songs are as long as they are here. That is not the case with Y.
While all the songs sound like a cohesive unit, they explore different sides of this unified sound. Some tracks with include electronic drums, others will lean a bit more heavily into the atmospherics and slower tempos. Others still will attempt to rip my face off with their speed and aggression. All the while maintaining a perfect balance of industrial and black metal.
I don't think I've enjoyed an industrial black metal album as much as Y since Aborym released With No Human Intervention. It's a huge breath of fresh air for me, and something I have been seeking to add to my collection for years. I finally have my go to record for industrial black metal.
Written May 13th 2024
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