MOTHFLESH RELEASES THE LOTUS DENIAL MUSIC VIDEO
Mothflesh returns to release their latest album, “Machine Eater”. Self-described as the bands “true-form”, Mothflesh has done away with fitting their sound into boxes and forged the 10 song release through a smattering of influences. The album is a patchwork of borrowed elements,
Infusing discordant down-tempo chugging from early metalcore bands of the likes of Converge and Poison The Well with the modern death metal aggression of Decapitated and the technical edge of Cynic and Carbomb. Machine Eater will tick all your boxes if you’re looking for a contemporary dropped-tuned neck cruncher with a distinct East Asian sound and a third-world attitude.
The Lotus Denial’s lyrical theme highlights our intertwining relationship with advancing technology and addiction dependency. As we progress through an age of technology, we have a limited understanding of the effects of technology on human emotions, relationships and mental wellbeing. Without revealing too much, The Lotus Denial allegorizes technology’s transformation into a socially acceptable opiate, creating a new breed of addicts that refuse to acknowledge the present reality beyond the digital realm.
The compositional process of The Lotus Denial is the quintessential example of how Machine Eater was assembled through the course of 2021. The inspiration for the main hook draws it’s dissonance voicing from traditional death metal, akin to Bolt Thrower or Obituary. We follow this with a melodic countermelody based on the Hirajoshi scale. This hybrid application of both dissonant and minor scales are the taproot for how Mothflesh forms its voicing and riffs. Upon completion of the main riff, we composed some fundamental drum lines to provide context to the song’s intensity and focus on the verse which acts as another anchorpoint. When utilising extended range guitars with strings tuned to Drop A, we felt that the Djentification was inevitable. The combination of intense main hooks and bouncy-castle- headbang verses provide another example for how the band utilises the concept of tension and release in its songcrafting. Once the framework for the drums were completed, the track was sent over to Naman Sachdev through fiverr to re-build the drum lines based on our
foundation and his vision.
In essence, The Lotus Denial follows a tale of two partners who face confrontation, disassociation and finally destruction against the
backdrop of modern substance abuse. The song introduces two key analogous elements which are the Lotus, a highly addictive opioid and
the Digital Wasteland, a disconnected state of euphoria achieved through repeated opioid abuse. As one partner develops an addiction for the Lotus, the other beckons and attempts to confront and intervene. Consequently a rift is created between the two and stretches the relationship point of failure.
There lingers an element of resentment from the intervening partner as he had done all he could to assist, only to be let down by her inability to resist the Lotus. However, as profuse as his resentment was, a deep inter-woven sadness stayed deep within him. The decision to leave her was ruminated through difficulty, but self preservation had to take precedence. The Lotus Denies is a line that is repeated several times throughout the song to signify how the Lotus’s user abuse of the substance leads to denial and refuses to accept the reality of the deterioration and toxicity imbued in what is left of the relationship.
Conclusively, what the song aims to highlight is that despite the marvels and achievements of modern technology, we have yet to find a solution for complex humanistic problems. We must rely on conventional and sustainable methods of communication to ensure these challenges are addressed appropriately in order to prevent others from falling in the same cycle of opiod and substance abuse.
Source:- Ezekiel
