“Embarking on a truly wild brutal journey Amantra vs. Submerged deliver a sound with such bite on “Lost Direction”. The wide variety of stylistic twists and turns help to keep things particularly interesting. While a large chunk of the work can be said to be a particular form of digital brutalism or power electronics/industrial variety, the duo also makes sure to incorporate drone, electro, classical, even folk into the proceedings. By keeping things so unpredictable the two massive slabs have a way of pulling the listener into uncertain territories. Over the course of the two sprawling epic pieces the entirety of the work simply stuns with its sheer breadth of narrative. Letting the two pieces work side by side lends the collection a nearly symphonic scope, for each piece possesses its own unique personality.
With the opener “And then we started to disappear” the duo makes patience a virtue. At first the group allows the whole thing to unfold in such a graceful fashion. Distortion reigns supreme, threatening overhead. Hovering about the whole of the piece takes its time in setting the mood, referencing elements of post-rock while doing so. Eventually, it simply bursts at the seams with an uncanny power, with the electronic distortion reminiscent of the most acid-soaked of 60s psychedelic guitar solos, but only of the brown acid variety for it feels akin to a nightmare. On the closer “Because we don’t need to breath anymore” the strumming that introduces it feels palpable, strange, and highly intimate. A little quieter in temperament there is a great moodiness to this colossal closer.
On “Lost Direction” Amantra vs. Submerged tears apart listener expectations, replacing them instead with intense uncertainty.”
http://www.beachsloth.com/amantra-vs-submerged-lost-direction.html