Basel, Switzerland’s Echolot are set to release their fourth long-player, Curatio, through Sixteentimes Music on Nov. 4. The trio were last heard from with 2020’s Destrudo (discussed here), and their new 10-minute single — who doesn’t love a 10-minute single? — is “Burdens of Sorrows,” which brings together contemplative post-rock à la Radiohead and the progressive metal of Tool with a post-metallic presentational linear flow and stretches of absolutely charred-black doom. If that sounds like a lot of ground to cover, yes, it is.

To Echolot‘s credit, the trio of guitarist Lukas Fürer, bassist Renato Mateucci and drummer Jonathan Schmidli are not simply smashing different ideas together and hoping something sticks. Their creative identity is rampant throughout the different stages of the song, from the quiet opening through the gnashing, rumbling conclusion, but true to type, it’s the fluidity of their delivery that makes it all work. The bassline runs under the early verses like a river current carrying the song forward, the melody is sweet and longing, and the crash of drums atmospheric but tense, telegraphing the build but holding back from letting the listener know right away where it’s all headed without making a show of teasing either. That is, if you’re new to Echolot, you’re in for a ride, both before and after the first screams show up around four minutes into the video.

Wait — a video? Premiering below? Yup. The moral of the story, visually, seems to be that sometimes you find the key that unlocks a gritty reboot of The Creature From the Black Lagoon — so, awesome — but the cinematic approach and the narrative both suit the song’s consuming journey and strikingly heavy arrival at its destination. The furies are many and the execution neither shies from nor is hindered by them, the band keeping a sense of poise even at their most tempestuous. I haven’t heard all of Curatio as yet, but “Burdens of Sorrows” is immersive and sweeping enough to stand on its own as it does.

I hope you enjoy:

Echolot, “Burdens of Sorrows” video premiere

Burdens of Sorrows by Echolot, taken from the upcoming album CURATIO

Burdens Of Sorrows written and performed by Echolot
Recorded by JEROEN VAN VULPEN
Performed by ECHOLOT

Director & Cinematography Manuel Guldimann
Editor Miro Widmer

Echolot was founded 2014 in Basel and has been swimming in an unchanged constellation. The three-master (bass, guitar and drums) uses the sounds of doom, psychedelic and progressive vibes.

Three islands of different types have already been created: „I“ (2016), „Volva“ (2017) and „Destrudo“ (2020). The rock for the next island is agglomerated.

This is how the new album „CURATIO“ (2022) springs from the depths of the seven seas. The well-known swell of sonar is carried on in it, and swells to the surface with the dark and uncharted depths of the sea. A glutton with the longing to be carried further and further down the endless veins of the world.

ECHOLOT:
Lukas Fürer – Guitar
Renato Mateucci – Bass
Jonathan Schmidli – Drums

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Tags: Basel, Curatio, Echolot, Echolot Curatio, Sixteentimes Music, Switzerland

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 3rd, 2022 at 5:38 am and is filed under Bootleg Theater. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.