Review
"Kiss of Death" by IC3PEAK descends into a shadowy realm where electronic and industrial music meld seamlessly. Released in 2022, this album crafts a haunting auditory odyssey that asserts the Russian duo's mastery over the brooding and the beautiful. "Kiss of Death" underlines their proclivity for weaving an entrancing web of dark, pulsating beats and eerie vocals.
The album’s title track bids you enter a domain of stark, throbbing tempos and spectral whispers, setting the stage for a descent through desolate corridors of sound. The presence of evocative guests, such as Oliver Sykes of Bring Me The Horizon on "VAMPIR" and the ethereal Grimes on "Last Day / Новый День," heightens the textural complexity, offering fleeting glimmers of light amid the pervasive gloom.
In a display of their alchemical sonic sorcery, IC3PEAK synchronizes different genres with unerring precision. Tracks like "Bad Night" and "Червь / Worm" resonate with the clang of industrial metal, while "Let’s Die Together, Я Не Шучу" and "Are You Scared? I Am Not" yield to darker experimental, pop-punk elements. Polished production unfolds each track with ritualistic attention to creating a dance of tension and liberating release.
Through their lyrics, IC3PEAK peels back the veneer of existence, exploring the dance between love and death with a mix of urgency and melancholy. Wherever these themes tread, their haunting and emotive vocal delivery emphasizes the album's unsettling beauty and darkness. "Kiss of Death" emerges not a hegemonic declaration of form, but as a chillingly evocative album, encapsulating IC3PEAK's unique artistic vision. - Kaida
