It is easy to take for granted the excellent state of experimental hip-hop today. With Death Grips freely applying noise and electronica with a punk ethos, and clipping. doubling down on industrialized beats and Afro-futuristic narratives, it is easy to forget that this landscape was not always so rich. Traveling back in time, to the end of the ‘90s, it was artists like Dälek knocking on the door that led to the future. It was as adventurous a path as an artist could choose. With the hip-hop influence of heavyweights like Public Enemy and Run-DMC on one hand, and then an industrial and noise injection running straight through their core. It was a statement that no boundary would stand in the way of Dälek’s vision, and so the experimental machinations of Einstürzende Neubauten merged into the shoegaze of My Bloody Valentine, the kraut rock of Faust (with whom Dälek have collaborated) and the industrial beatings of Godflesh.
Through the years Dälek delivered excellent works, always retaining a high standard, but it is especially 2005’s Absence that stands out. It feels like the perfect storm for Dälek, everything clicking together under their broad vision. Their hiatus in 2005 thankfully ended with a return to form in Asphalt for Eden and promptly followed by Endangered Philosophies. Now, Will Brooks and Mike Manteca return with their newest offering in Precipice.
Now, Dälek carry on their experimental path. Even though their recipe has been innovative, they do not attempt to reinvent the wheel. Instead they focus on being better at what they do with every new release. And so here what really sticks in the flow of the work. The start with “Lest We Forget” is taking a page from the shoegaze playbook. Wordless and immense, the soundscapes come crashing down. The feedback fills up the space, but not in an oppressive manner. It is more about the emotive response, and what rises to the surface is an otherworldly feeling. Yet, it is only the beginning for Precipice, and as the work carries on, this dreamlike setting slowly contorts and turns to an inevitable nightmare. The noise intersects the beats, creating havoc in “Boycott,” mirroring Brook’s voice as he states the obvious: “Society’s been failing you.”
It is this harshness, carried down through the ages that Dälek have been maintaining so well. And there are times when it verges on the misanthropic, as “Good” suggests, “These humans is fickle creatures” and even more so with “The Harbingers” stating some uncomfortable truths, “We an abscess, we ain’t equip to exists, barricade the entrance, let’s snuff our existence.” Elusive melodies work on top of this narrative, while the heavy beats come in to augment the urgency and impact of Precipice. It is a warning, as to our failing with Brooks once again pointing towards a bleak future in “Incite” as we “devolve back to Cain.” Dark and ominous Dälek carries, revealing an even nastier streak as the record unfolds. “A Heretic’s Inheritance” and the title track ramp up on the noise, leaving behind any notion of the previously set dreamscape as Brooks crushes all hope detailing how “An angel’s tears fall silent.”
At this point, Dälek could be viewed as a fairly pessimistic lot. And while it is true that Precipice is not an easy ride, one should not mistake pessimism for defeatism. Brooks and Manteca paint a picture of reality, but they still fight back. Their nature remains polemic, not abstaining. “Decimation (Dis Nation)” shows as much, where hardship leads to newfound enlightenment as “infinite texture blood woven together, we diamonds from pressure,” and can also result in rebirth, as detailed in “Devotion,” where “from cinders of me that are left perhaps you build a new kingdom.” In the end, it is about individualism for Dälek. And it is only fitting. Musically, they have always been individualists, not content to follow the crowd, instead finding their own space to conduct their weird experiments. And it is so refreshing to also see this echo in the lyrics. As Brooks states “I ain’t part of no flock” in “Good,” it is all about being honest and true to oneself, as “Heretic’s Inheritence” suggests: “I hold myself to a higher standard, don’t give a fuck if your gods are angered.” Even in the face of strenuous times, when we “live beneath the sword of Damocles,” there is still something to be gained, “it’s the density of the bricks that hardened us!”
It is more than 20 years in for Dalek at this point, and while again all their works so far have reached a high standard, there are still moments that shine a bit brighter. One such moment was 2005’s Absence, and now it looks Precipice pushes to the same direction.
