Anxious Sound
Albums of the Year
2016
What One Becomes by Sumac
Sumac is Nick Yacyshyn (Baptists) on drums, Brian Cook (Russian Circles, ex-Botch) on bass, and Aaron Turner (Old Man Gloom, ex-Isis) on guitar and vocals; three musicians with impressive resumes and whose distinct playing styles complement one another perfectly. Sumac may have begun as Turner's singular vision, but the two albums to date, The Deal (2015) and What One Becomes, proclaim a brilliant command of atmosphere, mood, and negative space that suggests it could only have emerged from the sonic collision of these three specific players. Each contributes something irreplaceable to the band's dynamism.
Like its predecessor, What One Becomes is an exhilarating, no-nonsense collision of opposing forces: darkness and light; catastrophe and grace. It's rare to find a metal album that is both fraught and introspective, but What One Becomes is what it sounds like. There is a gravity to this record that is often so forceful escape seems impossible. Its heavy, deliberate pace seems to consume the listener completely. The result is more an experience — tension and release made audible — than a mere collection of songs, and, for me, its unique and prodigious impact was unequaled by any other album in 2016.
Unholiness arrives by satellite
The best music releases of 2016, curated by Anxious Sound — a zine about essential independent noise.
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