On Anomaly, the debut LP from shrewdly named Danish duo, Gradience, the usually clear-cut boundary between apocalyptic, sludgy blackened death metal and dark urban trap-rap is thrillingly pulverised. Lines of musical convention are further blurred by disarmingly emotive and intimate vocal lines and a vibrant sound picture heaving with glacial synths and hypnotic sonic details.
Although musically GRADIENCE is a beautifully balanced partnership, vocalist Gavin Mistry handles all lyrics, and song titles like Vermin, Agony, Blame Me, and Deathwish attest to the bleak darkness seething beneath the choice rhymes and voluble flow. “Lyrically, I tend to write from my own experiences and emotions,” Mistry affirms. “As an immigrant in Denmark, I have lived and received my fair share of pushback and challenges. From a young age, I have practised writing about my thoughts and feelings – either as poetry or diary entries. It’s been a way for me to cope with the feeling of being alone and misunderstood – pretty much all my teen years. The album’s lyrical themes can be experienced as me reflecting on past, present and future truths and/or lies that have been important for me to deal with.”
“(New single) White Noise is one of our more experimental and unpredictable tracks on the album,” Mistry notes of their latest single. “The lyrics also reflect that same unpredictability: that I can find myself being confrontational and extroverted, but at the same time need solitude to cope with everything. The spoken word at the end is me reflecting on that introverted side of myself.”
