Album Review: Sons of Alpha Centauri – Buried Memories (H42 Records)

Sons of Alpha Centauri are back to release ‘Buried Memories’, a collaborative post metal colossus and the second part of the journey that started with the last album, Continuum (2018). You can read our review of that album here.

This unique release has been mixed by industrial metal icon Justin K. Broadrick and ambient gloom metal maestro James Plotkin. Buried Memories contains two 10 minute slabs of eclectic ambient progressive rock and a series of interpretative remixes of the theme tracks by Broadrick and Plotkin.

Justin Broadrick collaborates with the band on Side A through the progressive riff saga of Hitmen which he has mixed and also provided two remixes in his guise as Jesu and another as the eponymous JK Flesh. These three staggering pieces of music elapse over 27 minutes of pure instrumental voyage in a way only Sons of Alpha Centauri and Justin Broadrick could deliver.

James Plotkin and SOAC collaborate through several tracks including Warhero, a sprawling 10 minute odyssey and a masterful remix of SS Montgomery – the single from the band’s classic instrumental landmark debut album.

After entering the Continuum the listener must now bury their memories. The darkness will envelope the listeners in this second part of their epic sprawling progressive dark rock saga.

It is out on the 13th October 2019 via H42 Records.

There’s a lot of effort gone into making this a unique release. Sons of Alpha Centauri are risk-takers, gents with imagination and a will to provide listeners with something that they likely haven’t heard before. Or at least in this fashion.

That’s certainly what we get here. An instrumental journey that balances the input of everyone involved perfectly. There’s always risk when it comes to giving someone else the reigns to give their take (mix) on your track. You have to be confident, not just in the person’s talents but also how fans are going to react to a new album with three versions of the same track in the first half.

That’s what we get with Hitmen.

The first, a glorious showcase of instrumental moodiness drifting through highs and falling to lows. The perfect balance of melancholy and hope makes it an already unforgettable listen. Even before we get to the deeper groove segment that makes up the track’s finale.

Then we get the Jesu Remix and it can’t be stressed enough, just how wonderfully haunting this version is. Captivating is the word that comes to mind as the warming yet still eerie melody plays out.

The JK Flesh Remix could never hope to follow that but just to put the stamp on Broadrick’s talents, we have a darker and more electronica driven version. It’s very special sounding and again, is unique enough to stand on its own two feet.

Time for something else though as James Plotkin takes over for Warhero and Remembrance. The former an urgent reminder of just how other-worldly and incredibly heavy Sons of Alpha Centauri can sound. While the latter is the short sound of horror lurking around every corner.

Buried Memories then goes back to the past for its finale with a James Plotkin Remix of SOAC’s SS Montgomery. It’s good to hear fresh life breathed into it here. Even though the jagged effects are a little jarring to the ears at first. As the intensity increases, it does get better and the effects take on a more ‘oddities’ kind of role. It creates images of a malfunctioning robot or machine.

What a fascinating and clever release this is.

Sons of Alpha Centauri – Buried Memories Full Track Listing:

1. Hitmen (Justin K. Broadrick Mix)
2. Hitmen (Jesu Remix)
3. Hitmen (JK Flesh Remix)
4. Warhero (James Plotkin Mix)
5. Remembrance (James Plotkin Mix)
6. SS Montgomery (James Plotkin Remix)

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