Disconnected Souls

Powerful cinematic music...

Disconnected Souls

(Unsigned)

ELECTRONIC/CLASSICAL/METAL

Review By: DENNIS JARMAN

Band members: Matthew Simon Fletcher (Vocals/Guitar/Keys/Bass/Programming)

Patrick Lloyd (Vocals/Programming)

Holly Frances Royle (Guitars/Vocals)

Tim Jenkins (Synths/Keys/Guitar/Programming)

Felix Luca King (Vocals/Violin/Kalimba/Programming)

Track list: Delirium

Dissonant Whispers

Plague Rats

Petrichor

Symbiant

Kinsukuroi

Human Error

Loveless

Silence of the Doves

Fragments (featuring Jeremy Valentine)

Monachopsis (A Waltz at the End of the World)

Lyashikei

There never seem to be enough hours in the day to get things done, point proven by finally getting the album Fragments Of Consciousness reviewed for Disconnected Souls. My Heads Up North Manchester colleague Sam Loughlan reviewed first two tracks 'Delerium' and 'Dissonant Whispers', I followed with 'Plague Rats' and 'Petrichor', and I've somehow got the final eight done!

'Symbient' is a real brain mangler, as a sedate intro heads towards a lyric delivered with menacing glee, running alongside clattering samples and muscling up for gutteral death metal ferocity.

'Kintsukuroi', as well as being an awesome Scrabble score, is an unnerving but rewarding listen, as this ear popping curio is a mainly clean vocal, making your skin shiver when it spews up eclectic sampling before closing on thudding parts, giving way for an innovative, pulsed outro.

There's no room for error as 'Human Error' eases in on earworm drum patterns that dominate a haunting female lead vocal that adds subtle nuances over poignant samples, almost suffocated by a blackened cloak of doom.

'Loveless' is a stone cold P.A system rattler as stuttering programming fights for attention above the gruelling, grinding gargantuan grisly grooves, and a lurching lead vocal goes for the throat.

'Silence Of The Doves' is an enchanting four flawless minutes of exhilarating time changes, mainly piano lead, capturing the songs title effortlessly. A heartmelting vocal adds a delightful refrain over snare drum snaps and kick drums.

Hypnotic, heavenly vocals, male and female dominate 'Fragments' with aplomb, around a punishing drum battery and samples that bristle with pride.

Another curio comes from 'Monachosis (A Waltz at the End of the World)' to once more, appreciate the joint lead vocals, turning on its axis midway for cataclysmic drum assaults, returning back for a quaint piano outro.

'Iyashikei' closes this triumphant album in style for freestyle twists and turns for an insane instrumental.

It's been a few years since I submitted a review for Disconnected Souls, so this is a welcome return for me. Fellow reviewer, Sam Loughlan from Heads Up North Manchester reviewed the first two tracks from their current studio album Fragments Of Consciousness, 'Delerium' and 'Dissonant Whispers'. I was so impressed by their quality, I've just reviewed the following two tracks 'Plague Rats' and 'Petrichor', a precursor to myself reviewing the rest of the album next weekend.

'Plague Rats' is an exhilarating white knuckle ride. Soothing in on eerie synths, a haunting female vocal and a calm before the storm ethereal piece that heads into a Hellish death metal pummel, courtesy of tectonic plate shifting drum overload and a gutteral vocal. A midway haunting section is blasted out of the way by an unrelenting piledriving battery and intermittent tech metal nuances, ending on a cataclysmic, armageddon inducing boom!

'Petrichor' is a much more relaxed animal, as peace returns from the maelstrom of 'Plague Rats' as this six minute ambient sojourn is a mind and also ear popping array of keyboard stabs over exciting time changes of industrial metal and hypnotic sea siren like wails to lure any ship ashore , punctuated by avant garde grooves, bringing this song of sheer beauty to a breathtaking close.

Formed in Chester, 2018, they portray themselves as a five piece cinematic band with a desire to incorporate three great pillars of music. Electronic, Classic and Metal.

Review By: SAM LOUGHLAN

We have a real treat for you here today. You best get settles with a brew and a biscuit, because Heads Up North Manchester have hit the jackpot with this find.

Formed in 2018, Disconnected Souls are a five-piece cinematic band who came together with a desire to incorporate three great pillars of music, electronic, classic and metal. Based out of Chester, England the band state that they take their name from “the growing disconnect between humans; both from each other but also within ourselves, as well as the increasing rift with the natural world”.

Now I feel really privileged to have been given the opportunity to review this album, entitles Fragments of Consciousness. Released on the 19th of January 2024, this astonishing collection of twelve phenomenal tracks really makes its mark in the alternative music scene.

The first track of the album is ‘Delerium’. On initial play-through I instantly got a techno vibe mixed in with a bit Dimmu Borgir and to top it off, a sprinkling of Nightwish. These are bands that were prevalent in my music tastes of my younger years and it was quite refreshing to be able to relate to them.

At five minutes and thirty-nine seconds in length we are blown away with thrilling experimentations of keyboard rhythm patterns and feisty guitar riffs. It’s great to see new way of compiling musical masterpieces, and the added various vocal styles strengthens the bands approach. This is the first band that I have come across since I started reviewing a year ago that have touched on these kinds of techniques and it works really well for them. The band really know how to keep their audience engaged, which in my experience, is a must with tracks exceeding the four-minute mark.

The track that seems to have received the most audience attention is ‘Dissonant Whispers’ and upon first listening to this piece I can definitely get on board with the majority on this one.

The Keyboard intro with a soft female vocal overture sets the scene for the harmonies that kick in at one minute and thirty seconds in. As a whole this track is far softer and more vocal based that ‘Delerium’. It’s great to see how a band can adapt themselves to various audiences. The heavier aspects of the track don’t kick in until two thirds of the way through which was a nice surprising element to the structure of this piece.

The most notable part of ‘Dissonant Whispers’ for me is at four minutes and forty-one seconds when we are presented with a peaceful interlude, which creates a ‘calm before the storm’ feeling before gradually building the atmosphere back up again. I love this technique, and coupling it with the whispering vocals fade out till the end of the track, Disconnect Souls leave their listeners wondering what ear tingling triumphs will follow in the rest of the album.

So, there you have it, a little taste of what Disconnected Souls have to offer. A band with immense musical talent that are sure to be soon making it big in the alternative music scene. I Would like to personally thank all the band members for giving Heads Up North Manchester this thrilling opportunity and we wait with baited breath to see what these unparalleled artists come up with next.

Photo credit: Tom Lloyd Photography