Since 2003, Belgian noisenik Jerome Deuson has seen his ambient-rock project evolve from one-man show into an essentially fully-functioning musical collective. With apparent intention of getting deep into the psyche of the listener, Amute unleash their latest offering of genre-surpassing sounds. You can't dance to it but try not to let that fool you. "Infernal Heights For a Drama" is a precise and challenging record without carrying the common banality of traditional prog-rock.
After a delicate build-up, "May Faint" has a faint industrial-rock feel to it leaving Deuson and guest singer Robert Tohner sounding comparatively vulnerable. Deuson's vocals - when comprehensible - convey a range of emotion throughout the album, though the atmospheric timbre prevalent on the album also plays its part. A controlled clash of sound again occurs on "Enclosed Movements/Inner You", with prolonged, searching guitar notes giving the track an extraterrestrial vibe. In contrast, "When Things Are Not Going Right" is strictly minimalist using only the subtlest reverberations to support the contained vocals.
In "Eyelash: Fukt" we have a rather strange departure. Starting off with unintelligible chanting, soon followed by crashing electronic drums - this one really is a challenge. While being arguably the most abstract song on the album, there is no sense of the band losing their tight sound. This togetherness is a quality typified by the band on this release. Must make for an interesting live show.
If Amute set out to challenge their listener, then they've honoured their task resolutely. You may find yourself listening to the album repeatedly. It may be because you like it; it may be because you wish to decipher its meaning - or perhaps a little of both. Either way, give this a listen if you like your music to have a modicum of depth to it.