Shogun: Infinitet

     For those who wonder if it is fully possible to have a spiritual experience through music, Milwaukee's budding heavy psychedelic wizards, Shogun, seek to thoroughly disprove the skeptic throughout the course of their first full-length installment, Infinitet. The band then gracefully carry thoughtful-minded listeners to the promised lands of infinite peace. At the heart of Shogun's trance-inducing heaviness is the ancient premise of using repeated segments of music—or riffs—and creating the sense of a mantra, or 'a word or sound repeated to aid concentration in meditation,' by focusing on a pattern (riff) and allowing this awareness of focus to become mindfulness (also used visually with mandalas—see cover art). Infinitet is a concept album—but it is also an experiment in composing evolving music that unfolds prismatically. "Riffs upon riffs, upon more riffs, straight from the cosmic cloud" is the maxim the band uses to describe their sound: and it has never been more evident until now.
  With all four songs surpassing the seven minute mark, guitarist and fuzz connoisseur Sam Wallman (Ahab's Ghost, Flight of the Seraphim) seamlessly channels the early Tony Iommi technique of demonstrating a love for transitioning between riffs—yet taken to a whole next level. Each mantra unfolds into the next, burying each riff within the next, until a sense of evolution takes shape. Amplifier-worshipping bassist, Max Carl (Galactic Hatchet) uses the power of the bass mantra to bring monolithic heaviness to each song, guiding the directions toward even more transcendental frontiers. Keeping the cadences ritualistic and divine, Thor-like drummer Alvin Vega aspires to channel his inner John Bonham to integrate the sound with crushing, explosive momentum while skillfully maintaining the band's balancing act between gargantuan heaviness and subdued bliss. As a medium for the soul of the band, poetic vocalist Joe Widen (Ahab's Ghost, Galactic Hatchet) demonstrates an affinity for heavenly heights with insurmountable range.
   As a concept album, Infinitet grapples some impossibly heavy themes—but it also tells a mythological tale. Ex-Nihilo (Genesis), the opener, describes the birth of the waking state: creation of consciousness. It is not Shogun's goal to swing into action immediately, but rather allow the ambient, natural sounds to flourish into the first righteous chord. It is not before long that the prophecy of riffs upon riffs reaches cosmic proportions and the sensation of embarking on an epic quest unfolds. Rising from the murky depths of self, the next track, Rosebud, allows the beginnings of introspection to take place: man questioning his reality. With ample supply of both sublime and doom-infused shades, Infinitet possesses a sweet, psychedelic grooviness hearkening back to the arrangements pioneered on Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. As the theme develops further, the third track Aurora represents an awakening, culminating with zen-like riffs, triumphant and earth-shattering. Finally, Metatron showcases the stylistic peak of Shogun—ending like a glorious glimpse into the true nature of reality and matter. The concept of Sacred Geometry takes form with monumentally epic passages and patterns found within. The single sphere has become 13: forming a Metatron, the shape that creates the perfect foundation of the cube. Erupting into down-tuned heaviness on a moment's crushing notice, Shogun excel in the art of seismically meandering through cosmic shades, all the while maintaining perfect geometrical patterns that become graceful streams of light to swarm through each brilliant passage. Shades and tones of St. Vitus, Sleep, Elder, Pentagram, and Bongzilla can be tastefully heard throughout, culminating to moments that rival the intensity of the hyperspace cover art itself, created by vocalist Widen. On all accounts, this album is a force to be reckoned with, and showcases best the ultimate prodigy-like abilities of the overlooked, yet talented Milwaukee music scene. You can purchase the digital copy of the album here until pressing information is announced!