Saturday 25 May 2013

Author & Punisher - Women & Children - Review


Women & Children cover art

Author & Punisher is a Drone/Doom/Industrial Metal Artist from San Diego, CA, USA

Author & Punisher has steadily been making a name for himself over the last few years or so. It’s all the work of one hugely talented individual – Tristan Shone– Tristan aka Author & Punisher’s blend of Drone Based Industrial style Doom Metal is really a thing of beauty to listen to.

Tristan writes and performs all the music on instruments he has created himself. This man is a mechanical and musical genius all rolled into one. The amount of sounds, noises and riffs he gets from his own style of instruments is simply astonishing.

Now he is back with his most creative and hard-hitting album to date – Women & Children. A 7 song and 40-minute ride that will take you on a terrifying journey of sounds, atmospheres, noises and riffs. Imagine if The Terminator came to life and fronted an Industrial based Rock/Metal band. Well that is what to expect here and it’s freaking awesome to listen to.

The title track is the first track to pulverise your senses into submission. Just surrender now into this dark, cold and unforgiving industrial based nightmare. There is no escaping Tristan’s world where the machines run free over humanity. Author & Punisher has always been about embracing the mechanical side of life through the power of music. Author & Punisher will leave you thinking is Tristan – Man or Machine. Well on this form, it’s hard to tell and even the better for it.

2nd track – In Remorse – is an unflinching tale told through Industrial based beats with a healthy dose of Drone, Doom and Despair. It may have a slight Nine Inch Nails vibe but Tristan is playing all the instruments himself here. He is a one-man wrecking machine and he has the power to give you nightmares to last a lifetime.

3rd track – Melee – starts with distorted beats played against a backdrop of noises and sounds slowly creeping into life with each passing second. Author & Punisher plays his cards close to his chest for the first 2 mins before a heavy Doom/Drone based beat comes out of nowhere to intensify the nightmarish world on show. Another chilling track has the power to give the listener a few unsettled vibes. Author & Punisher deserves credit for the way he immerses the listener into his world. Once you’re in, it’s virtually impossible to escape.

The rest of the album follows the same path of these 3 outstanding songs. More crushing industrial based Drone/Doom noises full of nightmarish visions that have the power to make your nightmares become reality. Check out excellent tracks – Tame as a Lion, Miles from Home and Pain Myself.

Author & Punisher’s take on all things metal will pulverise you from pillar to post. He leaves no stone unturned in proving what a highly talented individual in the realm of Extreme metal he actually he is. I can’t think of anyone like him. Someone who makes his own instruments that can make noises the way that they do here on this extraordinary and classic album.

As this album is destined to become a classic in the years to come. Author & Punisher deserves all the acclaim and the plaudits coming his way. If you get the chance to see Author & Punisher on stage then I recommend you do so as I have been told he is absolutely incredible on stage. A few friends of mine saw him on his recent UK tour and were blown away by his live show. They said it’s something you need to experience once in your life.

That is how I describe this album. Even though you might not like it, I recommend you experience some of Author & Punisher’s work once in your life. However, Women & Children is his career-defining masterpiece.

Need I say anymore…?

Excellent and Highly Recommended.

Thanks to Earsplit PR and Seventh Rule Recordings for sending us a copy to review. Really appreciate it.

Women & Children will be available to buy on Seventh Rule Recordings from June 11th 2013.

Check out Author & Punisher from the links below.