Album Review: The Infinity Ring - Nemesis & Nativity
Reviewed by Dan Barnes
The Infinity Ring is the brainchild of Cameron Moretti, the seed of which was planted in the summer of 2020 and collected disparate elements from the New England Metal, Punk and Electronica scenes, fusing them together to form new, experimental sounds.
The result of those endeavours is Nemesis & Nativity, the collectives’ debut album which sees Noise and Drone combine with Dark Folk, No Wave, Post-Industrial, and every other genre and sub-genre of music you care to mention, into one of the most bizarre listening experiences you may have this year.
From the outset, Crown of Stars begins with a glacially slow build; incorporating middle eastern instrumentation and rhythms, alongside droning Gregorian chants, indie guitar tones and a deep, intense vocal, reminiscent of Leonard Cohen. Those hypnotising elements continue in the Folk sensibilities of Temptress, in which The Infinity Ring take on a distinctly Swans sound that underscores the majority of Nemesis & Nativity.
Of course, I appreciate the futility of even trying to define what a “Swans sound” actually is as Michael Gira, et al. have made a career of rejecting labels or being pigeon-holed, but Mr Moretti and co. seem happy for follow that lead into a world of sonic experimentalism and spiritual and mystical exploration.
Gift of Life employs whispered vocals and soaring guitars to jam out its ideas to their logical conclusions, while we as listeners buckle up for the ride; the closing title track returns us to a state of comforting acceptance through soothing, pastoral orchestration.
Before that conclusion, however, The Infinity Ring funnel the listener through a trail by the fire of Nemesis & Nativity’s most frenzied passages: Mazarus Millennium Sun and Wax & Oil assault with a face-ripping intensity not yet heard elsewhere on the record. Primitive percussion and repetition, along with droning walls of sound look to overwhelm the senses.
Equally disconcerting is the spoken word, penultimate track, Prison, Constraint: a female-voiced monologue accompanied by the kind of scratching violin sound Niccolò Paganini was rumoured to have sold his soul to create. Full of feedback and dissonance, it may be reasonable to consider whether a Faustian pact has been reached in the creation of this record as a whole.
How The Infinity Ring have managed to construct fifty-minutes of music that can be this vast and far reaching yet be so intimate and introspective without a Mephistophelian bargain can only be speculated; but they do say the Devil has the best music. And if eternal damnation is the price to pay it will, at least, give enough time to unpick all the intricacies of the album.
