The increasing ubiquity of British multi-instrumentalist/vocalist James Fogarty is certainly not a bad thing. He’s in Norwegian avant-garde progenitors In the Woods for a reason — he’s an excellent singer with a wide, if not uncanny range, not to mention the understanding and grip on odd, weird metal, which is where his one-man Ewigkeit project comes into focus. It’s not metal for everyone, but it can appeal to almost anyone if that makes sense. Such is the manner in which he tackles the band’s ninth studio album, the conspiracy-laden DISclose.
One can still somewhat remember when Fogarty (who goes by Mr. Fog here) was tinkering with black metal in Ewigkeit’s early days, something that occasionally pops up across the album’s seven songs, but by and large, this is more of a boulder-sized glob of mutating metal than any one singular style. Fogarty treks all over the place, from soaring epochs “1947,” anthemic sprawls “Disclosure,” to cloaked-in-eeriness jaunts “Oppenheimer’s Lament.” These cuts comprise the first half of the album, which, frankly, is good enough to bring the whole thing home, especially “Disclosure.” But, easy, but effective riffing comes to the fore on “Guardians of the High Frontier,” where Fogarty’s clean vocals let ‘er rip among a bevy melodies, while the twisting, turning “KRLLL” goes at it with BM gusto.
Fogarty throws a lot out here, sort of like he’s rapidly emptying a bag of tricks in the manner of a magician. There’s no trickery or tomfoolery here; DISclose is a highly engaging, sometimes caustic, but always memorable listen, straight from the mind (and heart) of a man whose creativity is strong enough for two of the underground’s most uncanny bands.