Mevrimna – INHIBIT\\EXHIBIT (The Fear and the Void Recordings, 01 November 2019)

While they may take the stage silently, completely shrouded in the anonymity of long black cowls, I don’t think either member of Pittsburgh-based blackened noise duo Mevrimna is making any real attempt to conceal their real-life alter egos: the guitarist (and occasionally bassist) and the drummer/vocalist serve in those same capacities as members of the much-acclaimed Slaves BC.

In fact, their live debut (almost exactly one year ago in Turtle Creek, PA) was slotted immediately before a performance by their “other” group. While I don’t know whether they found themselves to be a hard act to follow that evening, I can confirm that the peculiarly-named twosome did succeed in utterly scaring the hell out of everyone in attendance.

And now, following a few one-off tracks, this month these guys have released a brand-new full-length recording, which assuredly will serve up the exact same result. Consider yourself warned.

Mevrimna – Turtle Creek PA, November 2018

In one of the many peculiarities of the English language, the title INHIBIT\\EXHIBIT looks as though its two words should be direct antonyms of each other, but not quite: one means “to hold back” while the other means “to show.”

Similarly, while the sounds contained within this pair of seventeen-minute-ish recordings do not exactly oppose each other, they certainly don’t always play nicely together or even sometimes feel like they are all on the same page — aside from sharing the common goal of ensuring a dischordant and discomforting listening experience for all brave enough to approach.

The foreground of both “songs” consists chiefly of assortments of harsh noise that at one point had originated from a guitar, while draped across the background is a near-constant supply of horrifying screams and shrieks.

At times (particularly during the earlier parts of track two “EXHIBIT”) there is a foundation of bass tones serving as somewhat of an anchor keeping the chaos from straying too far, but mostly the disparate parts are threaded by some equally-chaotic drumming: sometimes faster, sometimes slower, but always very intense — and rarely quite managing to unify the rest of it into anything that could be considered cohesive music.

Both tracks at some point (usually nearer the end) tend to grow a bit more focused, with the participants locking together (even if just briefly) into a hypnotic groove, but otherwise they seem intent to saunter and stagger in whatever random direction suits their respective fancies at any given moment.

I’ve heard of acid jazz, but is there such a thing as sulfuric acid jazz? I don’t know. But overall this album would be highly recommended to anyone who digs formless noise recordings, fans of the rawest of chaotic black metal, and especially to anyone whose interests would lie within the center of that Venn diagram. And not recommended for the faint of heart, or anyone who needs even the slightest hint of a pleasing melody in their listening material.

The album is available through Amazon or Bandcamp. For those curious about witnessing this spectacle live, Mevrimna will be performing again next Saturday in McKees Rocks, PA.
 

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