Album Review: Marc Durkee – Remain In Stasis (Self Released)

Inspired by Katatonia, Tesseract, Anathema, Devin Townsend, Coheed & Cambria ,Marc Durkee describes his music as “a blend of progressive, metal/rock, doom metal, post-hardcore, and post-rock.”

Durkee’s new album, solo in the true sense of the word, is entitled ‘Remain In Stasis’ to follow his LP ‘Traveller’ (2017) and EPs ‘Singular’ (2014), ‘Gatherings’ (2013) is loaded with deep meaning to this courageous and talented artist, as he explains.

“The first meaning is personal. I’ve been stuck in a state of depersonalisation for almost five years now. For me, it’s been a chronic symptom of dealing with years of depression and stress, and it’s unrelenting. When it’s at its worst, it removes mostly all motivation and enjoyment from my life. While that is unfortunate, it does serve as major source of inspiration for song-writing…The second meaning is more political and universal.

I feel that humanity is at a unique point in our history, with technology and social media allowing us to communicate and express ourselves in ways that were previously unimaginable. And yet, nobody really DOES communicate. It seems as though it’s mostly used as a platform to bicker over political ideals and agendas and create discourse, or for anyone to use as their own personal performance venue. Everyone wants to be seen and heard, even those who really don’t deserve to be.”

Remain in Stasis will be released on January 18th 2019.

What a talented individual Marc Durkee is and Remain in Stasis is an album he can be very proud of. Filled with all manner of interesting soundscapes and complexities that showcase an impressive ear for song composition. From the proggy elements of The Dark Dimension to Mimesis’ soft instrumental melody and A Great Disdain’s moody atmosphere, the first half of the album is a whirlwind of rocking tunes.

Then we hit the energetic, pop-punk style of Redesign and it becomes clear that this is an album that isn’t lacking in ideas. Perhaps though, too many? You see the variety in tracks does mean we don’t get a completely coherent listen across the ten, regardless of quality.

It is a quality album although the Not Without Sin threatens to derail things with a bland and uninteresting melody. One of many slow tracks, it just doesn’t go anywhere interesting.

Thankfully, the energy and intriguing side of Durkee reemerges for the wacky rhythm of Meteor before Stasis closes the album out with emotion dripping from every note.

Mac Durkee – Remain in Stasis Full Track Listing:

1. The Dark Dimension
2. A Way to Escape
3. Mimesis
4. A Great Disdain
5. Redesign
6. The Mind Flayer
7. A Number of Years
8. Not Without Sin
9. Meteor
10. Stasis

You can order the album via Bandcamp, Spotify and iTunes. Find out more by liking Marc Durkee’s Facebook Page and following on Instagram.