Just a few days ago with my review for Fleshvessel’s debut EP, “Bile of Man Reborn”, I claimed that it was incredibly inventive on every level and not afraid whatsoever to cross genre lines to create something unique and electrifying. I truly thought that would be the pinnacle of such a thing for at least a few months if I was lucky. It would’ve taken me a lot to convince me that it would not just happen not 24 hours later, but also from their labelmates whose new album also releases on the same day. And yet, it’s with their upcoming triple album that Neptunian Maximalism has done just that and so much fucking more.
With such a crazy cover art, should I have expected anything other than an absolute menagerie of talent and musical prowess with the bewilderingly odd lovechild of grand experimentation that is “Éons”? I’ve never once sat here thinking about what would happen if you blending drone metal with the utmost freestyle form of jazz with a thick layer of psychedelia on top of it, and, honestly, I really don’t think any other band could pull it off as it’s all throughout this album that I wonder how in the hell Neptunian Maximalism has done it in the first place! This is the epitome of an album that has so much going on inside of it that any person can claim to have heard all that “Éons” has to offer in just one spin is a plain liar. Neptunian Maximalism has packed much more than a lot in this over 2-hour long creation that is made for the people that want to get very explorative with their music in a way that only a handful of other acts have ever dared to even approach. The absolute entirety of this triple album keeps you on your toes around every corner as Neptunian Maximalism is constantly shifting in form, sound, and presentation as they’re like no other act that I can think of in the entire world that does a sound as bold as this, and it’s absolutely gripping to witness but a true task to absorb as much as you can in one go. It constantly keeps you guessing no matter what happens and throughout it all “Éons” effortlessly manages to surprise, satisfy, and impress with every track offering something crazy, hypnotic, or both to such a degree that it’s hard not to call Neptunian Maximalism an act that doesn’t reside with any other in all of the music world and, instead, creates a plateau all of their own.
Without a doubt, this is one of the most insane acts that I’ve ever had the pleasure of sinking my teeth into. I cannot recommend this work enough to those who are brave enough to go into something that does not abide by any rules in order to persist in its own special sound that holds no quarter in order to succeed in its own conquest which it certainly does. Everything about what Neptunian Maximalism has done with “Éons” exudes grandeur and talent on a rare level, and it is surely destined to be an underground beauty that only the most ardent of explorers will find with only a fraction of that being able to lose themselves in these folding, twisting halls.
“Éons” releases on June 26th via I, Voidhanger Records!
LISTEN to an advanced track from “Éons” on Bandcamp here.
LIKE Neptunian Maximalism on Facebook here.