When the avant-garde thought, the mystery and the brutal emotional charge are being wrapped in a music piece, an experience takes place that makes you feel,  think deeply, wanting  to immerse yourself again and again in the atmosphere of the album in your hands, to dream with your eyes wide open…
Such is the case with „Chance Encounter of Flesh and Nail“ – the upcoming debut title of the enigmatic Canadian avant-garde black metal band Cloven, about which I can reveal almost nothing at the moment, but whose music leads us to well-known cathartic atmospheres, bringing chills to our skin.
Combining some of the most striking features of bands such as Emptiness, Amenra, Shining and last but not least, Deathspell Omega, Cloven is a strange creature with a peculiar character. Exactly those kind of entities from whom you can hardly take your attention away and they attract you like a magnet.
The title contains eight tracks with a total duration of about 40 minutes, which actually doesn’t really matter, because as soon as the first song of the album comes in, you fall into a zone of mind-blowing timelessness.
Opener “Astonishment of Heart” opens the album with a calm piano melody and sporadic distorted synth and guitar sounds appearing like ghosts in the background, subtly accompanied by a hushed voice and sudden drumming, transitioning to drawn-out instrumentals and screams. The instruments change, build and draw into a very specific haunting atmosphere, with the bass dominating and mesmerizing with its intensity.
That’s where the association I made with Emptiness comes from – there’s a particularly aggressive and I’d even say passionate (trip-hop) motif that reminds me of a similar way of writing songs.
The avant-garde approach is preserved throughout the album, as in „Fiend“, the second track, the melody rises to an even higher level, accompanied by the harsh vocals of the musician, which sound obsessive and attack your whole being. The haunting atmosphere builds to full force and soon everything reaches a turbulent moment, after which the darkness is so beautiful and soothing that it reminds me of a hushed cemetery park among a thick mist.
The Unexpected Specter cover art speaks volumes for what ‘Chance Encounter of Flesh and Nail’ feels like –  a moonlit hypnotic ritual that hallucinates and introspects with its warped riffs, throbbing drums, slashing vocal performance with huge charge and captivatingly smooth melodies. which dissolve in space.
Deviant but also extremely immersive and fascinating, Cloven’s debut presents obscure dimensions of the ghastly avant-garde side of metal, stitched together with piercing energy and impactful compositions. In case you are looking for a  dark and sensual music to dive into the depths of your consciousness – look no further.

Оценка: 9/10

Hear the first single from the album,“Astonishment of Heart”:

Band: Cloven
Label: Независимо издание
Release date: 15-ти март, 2024-та година
Save link: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/cloven1/chance-encounter-of-flesh-and-nail