Tristan Shone, the sole architect of
Author & Punisher, makes industrial metal using a variety of self-built instruments and controllers, including Drone Machines and Dub Machines. He built up a fan base mainly through his dazzling performances, which look like he hauled some of the contents of a welding shop on-stage -- you almost expect sparks to start flying from his equipment. His studio albums are just as heavy and disorienting as his live shows, as his brutal distortion and pitch-bending effects are effective at altering reality in both contexts.
Shone's second record for Relapse is both a refinement of the sound of 2018's
Beastland and an expansion of it. That album introduced tighter song structures and more melodic hooks into the
A&P sound, yet still felt monstrous and suffocating.
Krüller returns to the longer track lengths of previous albums, but the vocals are more upfront and there's an increased presence of guitars and drums in addition to electronics. Tracks like "Incinerator" are reminiscent of the industrial side of '90s alternative metal, but drawn out and extra bleak and apocalyptic. The lyrics take inspiration from classic dystopian sci-fi, particularly Octavia E. Butler's prophetic Parable of the Sower, which took on new meaning and relevance during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which
Shone spent constantly writing material in lieu of touring. Two songs feature guest appearances by members of
Tool --
Justin Chancellor adds bass guitar to the "Army of Me"-like cyber-pulse of "Centurion," and Danny Carey's taut drumming enlivens "Misery," one of the set's most radio-friendly tracks. Album centerpiece "Maiden Star" is a bit different, backing away from the more aggressive vocals heard on the rest of the record and coming closer to
Deftones at their most shoegazey, yet tripping things up with broken drum patterns and smeared synths.
Shone turns
Portishead's already downcast "Glorybox" into a blown-out dirge, going extra hard when he reconstructs the heavy breakbeat that appears near the end of the song. "Blacksmith" features glitchy beat choppage from breakcore/IDM producer
Vytear (Jason Begin), who co-produced
Krüller, and his contribution makes for the most energetic, futuristic rush on the album.
Krüller is one of the most accessible-sounding
Author & Punisher releases, but it's still vast and uncompromising. ~ Paul Simpson