Who are we really that we are capable of such horrifying acts in our dreams; That our mind can be both so twisted or so grandiose and wonderful in its liberated creation?
There are times we want to dream because it frees our soul and amplifies vision, yet sometimes we fear to sleep because our demons eagerly await to take over our mind. They fuel the anxiety that keeps us hypervigilant and awake at night and the kind of animal fear that consumes us as we reluctantly fall asleep.
Oh the night is merciless and long. Come, hold my hand and sing for me that song. Soon I shall leave you behind, soon I shall leave all I know behind. Soon sleep shall take me.
Elusive Sound proudly presents the full digital release of “The All-devouring”, the debut album by Russian post-black metal band Somn on 27 January, 2019.
Based in Saint-Petersburg, Russia and featuring members of notable underground acts such as Show Me A Dinosaur and TRNA, Somn [from Somnus – god of sleep] create mesmerising and unrestrained music of a conceptual nature, seamlessly merging extreme metal genres with instrumental rock.
Somn’s debut album “The All-devouring” is marked by intense, fevered performances and intricate songwriting that are monstrously evocative and physical in a way that transcends the band’s black metal and post-rock origins. The band hits hard and fast annihilate all in its path, clearing out just as quickly. The intensity never lets up during the album’s four long tracks, not even in the haunting slowdowns that offer brief moments of reprieve, for the band quickly transitions to lean sonic assaults as if they smell blood. It is these lightning-fast bursts of aggression that change tempo or feel without warning that keep the listener attentive and on edge. The All-devouring is a hurricane force blast of fury produced by a band who embraces chaos and nightmare culture with a horrific unified vision.
Recorded mixed and mastered by Mikhail Kurochkin over a period of three weeks and featuring the iconic art of Mladen Ilic, “The All-devouring” will be released on vinyl by Elusive Sound in 2019.
BIOGRAPHY
Somn [from Somnus – god of sleep] is a post-black metal band from Saint-Petersburg, Russia.
In 2017, guitarist Oleg Salnikov and drummer Timur Yusupov (TRNA) started conceptualising and writing what they thought would be the follow-up to Austen’s “Eschatological Delight”. They had received praise from Elusive Sound and were ready to ditch the bedroom recordings, step things up and unleash all their potential.
In late 2017, the Austen duo started working with PWYLL bassist and audio engineer Mikhail Kurochkin (Show Me A Dinosaur, TRNA, Blankenberge) and six months later their raw tracks had caught the ear of guitarist Artem Selyugin (Show Me A Dinosaur) who because of sharing the same rehearsal space, all of a sudden found himself jamming and collaborating with the trio.
At the beginning of August 2018, the tracks were fully formed. The band decided to record a raw live session which they sent to Elusive Sound. The session was an awe-inspiring and thrilling sonic assault that left everyone immediately hooked. It was time to think of a band name and record an album. The band adopted the name Somn based on the album’s concept, inspired by how we transport into our dreams what we experience when we are awake and how we set free in a realm where all is possible our traumas, deepest fears, premonitions, fury and thoughts of vengeance.
Recorded mixed and mastered by Mikhail Kurochkin over a period of three weeks, “The All-devouring” is a pulverising album, revealing an incredibly physical, dynamic and brutal sounding band, meshing venomous and relentless intensity with monster hooks and haunting melodies.
The All-devouring will be released by Elusive Sound digitally on 27 January and on vinyl later in 2019.
TRACKLISTING
1. Sightless
2. Awe
3. Tempest
4. The All-Devouring
CREDITS
All music composed by Somn.
Recorded, mixed and mastered by Mikhail Kurochkin
Art by: Mladen Ilic
Released by: Elusive Sound
On this recording Somn are:
Mikhail Kurochkin (bass, vocals)
Timur Yusupov (drums)
Oleg Salnikov (guitar)
Artem Selyugin (guitar, vocals)