Supremacy, ambition, narcissism. Three perfectly healthy personality traits, provided you never speak to another human being, run a company or gain access to a national television network. They’re also the themes behind “Chant of Willpower and Fame,” the latest double single from French blackened industrial project The Sickness Stars. Subtlety, apparently, was not invited.
The record is the second instalment in a planned trilogy of singles, continuing the band’s exploration of humanity’s less flattering habits. And if you’ve ever wondered what happens when industrial music, blackened metal, and the musical spirit of the 1990s get locked in a room together, The Sickness Stars seem determined to provide an answer. Preferably a loud one.
That combination is central to the project’s appeal. Electro-industrial brings the mechanical menace, blackened metal supplies the aggression, and avant-garde influences keep things from becoming a straightforward exercise in turning everything up until the speakers surrender. The band also draws on old-school ’90s rock and metal, giving its otherwise abrasive approach a connection to a decade when alternative music was particularly interested in making everyone slightly uncomfortable.
But the real focus here is the subject matter. “Chant of Willpower and Fame” examines the hunger for supremacy and recognition, along with the narcissism that can turn ambition into something considerably uglier. Wanting to succeed is one thing. Deciding that everyone else exists primarily to applaud you is another. History, unfortunately, has given us plenty of examples of people who struggle to understand the difference.
The Sickness Stars approach these ideas through a broader interest in the human condition, digging into the vulnerabilities hiding beneath individual beliefs and social structures. The project isn’t simply interested in making dark music for darkness’s sake. Its theatrical, ritualistic presentation reflects a desire to confront uncomfortable emotions rather than politely pretend they don’t exist.
As the second release in a trilogy, “Chant of Willpower and Fame” also contributes to a larger artistic statement. Whether examining hatred, love, ambition, or the intoxicating appeal of power, The Sickness Stars seem most interested in what happens when ordinary human impulses become something more extreme.
This won’t necessarily be everyone’s cup of tea. Blackened industrial music isn’t exactly designed to soundtrack a relaxing Sunday brunch, unless your family gatherings involve considerably more screaming than mine. But for listeners who enjoy their metal abrasiveness, their electronics unsettling, and their ideas a little uncomfortable, The Sickness Stars offer an intriguing proposition.
“Chant of Willpower and Fame” continues a project built around confronting humanity at its most contradictory. And honestly, given the state of humanity, they’re unlikely to run out of material anytime soon.
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About the Author
A tenured media critic known working as a ghost writer, freelance critic for various publications around the world, the former lead writer of review blogspace Atop The Treehouse and content creator for Manila Bulletin.
