Avant-garde Metal Duo DISORIENTATION Enter “Survival Mode” With New EP Out Dec 2023
Montreal, Canada’s avant-garde metal duo Disorientation returns with their sophomore EP Survival Mode to follow their 2021 self-titled debut. A more blunt and straightforward record than its predecessor, the 16-minute, 3-track EP bends extreme metal, noise, and hardcore influences at its will pushing the envelope with unorthodox vocal lines, odd structures, and dissonant oboe and English Horn arrangements to create a strong emotional reaction to reflect tactics for psychological survival in unpleasant situations.
“This new EP has more of a harder edge compared to our 1st effort. We opted for a more straightforward sound with a mix that better reveals each instrument and voice that Hugues Deslauriers (Roarrr Sound Studio) magnificently mixed and mastered. Those who already like the band will enjoy it. People new to the band will either like or hate it, or at the least, it will leave them confused. It aims to create tension in the listeners, putting them ill at ease and make them question and wonder what is going on.” adds the band.
As another milestone for the duo to express their own unique sound and perspective in the context of metal music, Survival Mode speaks about coping mechanisms, and the process of releasing this EP has been an exercise of survival for both of them who suffered losing loved ones during recording. Also with Survival Mode, Disorientation aims to build real momentum and bring their atypical symphonic music to the live environment.
To introduce fans to the forthcoming record, Disorientation is unveiling the opening track “Dissociation” accompanied by a music video. The musical extremes from this song reflect the coexistence of harshness and vulnerability that dissociation can create between oneself and surroundings.
The band comments on the track:
“As soon as we started writing Dissociation, we knew this was the ideal opener for the EP. Contrary to the opening song Break Down from our previous effort, Dissociation does not waste any time and starts moving right from the start. It was the ideal song to showcase first because it encompasses the wide range of musical and style elements that make up the Disorientation sound.“
First off, care to introduce yourself to our readers?
Marie-Claude Fleury (vocals, oboe, English horn, drum programming): We are Disorientation, a symphonic metal project from Montreal, Canada. Symphonic metal is often associated with beauty and grace, but we chose to take the opposite approach: our songs are rooted in misery and distress, and we can agree that those are far from elegant. I play oboe and English horn so that provides the orchestration. We go for a smaller approach that sounds more like chamber music.
Daniel Daris (guitars and bass): We share an interest in dissonant music and started recording ideas based on that. We had many song parts lying around, some even started in early 2010, but it was in late 2019 that we got serious and started recording what would become our self-titled EP.
Tell us a bit about your most recent release.
Marie-Claude: On December 1st, we will release our 2nd EP titled Survival Mode. Like our first effort it has 3 songs, but this time we adopted a more straightforward approach because those specific songs required a harder edge as they are generally faster.
Daniel: We both went through rough times in 2023 and needed to express them. The title Survival Mode is a true reflection of our state of mind this year – the need to find a way to keep going in spite of the negative emotions we feel.
Do you have any upcoming shows you’d like to tell us about?
Marie-Claude: We don’t have any shows planned.
Daniel: At the moment we are working on getting a lineup together for the specific purpose of playing shows.
If given the chance, which Canadian artist would you love to work with in the future?
Daniel: Luc Lemay from Gorguts, Mathieu Bérubé from Teramobil, Michel “Away” Langevin from Voivod.
Marie-Claude: There are so many talented people here, for me it’s very hard to decide who I would like to collaborate with.
What’s your goal for 2024?
Marie-Claude: We want to assemble a lineup to play shows and hopefully make our next release as a band rather than a project.
Daniel: We also want to start working on our next songs to be able to present more material to the public.