OPN: Returnal; Describing Bodies through Stress Waves

First off, I love this album from start to finish, but I can't get over how much I love Describing Bodies and Stress Waves together as a movement.

Stress Waves especially: 5 minutes and 42 seconds of washes from the ocean of melodic bliss.

totally totally. at first I felt this album was a bit "more of the same" after the three hour deluge of droning dreamscapes that was Rifts, but further reveal all sorts of subtle tonal variations. The juxtaposition between sections is what really makes it for me - the dense abrasiveness of Nil Admirari suddenly dropping off into hollowed-out ghost tones, which slowly build back up into the alternative universe pop of Returnal.

The second half of the album introduces more in the way of melodic structure, culminating in a softer sort of semi-chaos on Preyouandi. I almost feel like the album could loop into itself - the prebirth maelstrom, the textural simplicity of early childhood, the growing complexity of adulthood that eventually collapses back into itself with a sort of holy fervour. Kinda like some sorta, i dunno, eternal return or somethin'

agreed!! returnal is lightyears ahead of replica. r+7 and replica are both, his big awesome albums (russian minds is an awesome mini album, and rifts is an awesome compilation, but the flow of returnal and r+7 as albums s second to none for me:)

yep one of his most brilliant ones to date... i played the shit out of it in my psychedelic times

  On 11/19/2013 at 10:31 AM, Cryptowen said:

Kinda like some sorta, i dunno, eternal return or somethin'

Well played sir.

@bitroast- nice video, what game are those scenes from?

The sega game bram stoker's dracula, and the snes game demon's crest.^^

  On 11/22/2013 at 7:35 AM, bitroast said:

The sega game bram stoker's dracula, and the snes game demon's crest.^^

Very nice. Yeah, the texture of the flames seemed very snes to me. Alot of good games for that console; Secret of Mana is my all time favorite "old-school" game. I never owned a genesis, but my friend across the street had one so I got in a good amount of Sonic the Hedgehog, Gain Ground, Streets of Rage, etc. Thankfully, roms/emulators will live on forever.

My favourite fan video of Describing Bodies. No theatrics, it just works well for me.