Architecture is the sixth album by Cold Fusion, the solo project of Marcin Bachtiak. I’m familiar already with a couple of earlier Cold Fusion releases, Occupatria and Report, and while I find them listenable enough, I don’t think of them as being particularly interesting. But I’d heard a couple of tracks from Architecture and seen others giving it high praise, so I went ahead and picked up a copy, curious to hear how the project had developed.
After a quiet ambient introduction with some operatic voices, the album launches into a fast-paced and bombastic martial neo-classical track. This is very much the theme of the album. Hard drums and layers of operatic voices and orchestral instruments dominate. The next two tracks continue this theme, with the tense, restless rhythm and staccato strings of Part II: Ultitatis and the dark pounding of Colosseum.
Part III: Venustatis is a more chaotic affair, with densely layered melodic elements creating an intense disorienting effect. It’s by no means easy listening. The musical sophistication shown here outstrips much of the rest of the martial industrial genre.
Divina Proportio changes tack and goes into ambient territory. It’s a track of gentle wind-like swooshes and gentle drones. Half-way through, some hand drums come in, sounding a little middle-eastern. It’s not the most interesting track but provides a small rest for the ears amidst the bombast of the rest of the album.
The album quickly returns to that bombastic mood with the next three tracks, Iunge, Architecture, and City Streets. The latter track, in particular, goes back to the level of sophistication that makes this such an enjoyable album. Again, the tone is dark, the drums are heavy and insistent. But the subtle layers of brass and string instruments create a sad and ominous mood.
There’s a short ambient interlude and then Octagon ends the album with a slightly more pop/rock drum rhythm, but otherwise largely orchestral instrumentation. Then, as the track comes to a close, a buzzing synth starts to dominate. This track doesn’t seem to fit with the martial neo-classical style of the rest of the album, and I can’t help but think that the album would have been stronger without it. But it’s much like how the Amen break made it’s way into one of the tracks on Occupatria. Bachtiak doesn’t quite let go of an aesthetic that comes from more electronic music.
The production on the album is stunning throughout, with the small exception of a strange whistling noise in the Intro. Despite being densely layered at points, the sounds remain clear. The drums are bright and powerful. The orchestral instrumentation sounds convincing rather than artificial.
Ultimately, I find myself very impressed by this album. It is musically sophisticated, well-produced, varied in pace but (with the exception of the last track) consistent in style. It represents great progress from Cold Fusion’s earlier releases.
(The only other thing I’ll say about this album is to note that I also made a release called Architecture a couple of years before this one, and the similarity of the covers is a strange coincidence. Great minds think alike, apparently.)
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