They say that music soothes the savage beast but in the case of Black cabaret Avant-Garde Metal quartet Tardigrade Inferno that should perhaps be altered to music cheers the unhinged clown. The Russian quartet hail from St. Petersburg and have been slicing and dicing since 2016’s set titled EP, following it with a full length album in 2019’s “Mastermind” that features a cover of a cut by The Doors as well as one from the hit children’s TV series Lazy Town… which probably tells you all you need to know, but perhaps you should never judge a book by its cover. 2021 saw EP “The Worst Of Me” and single “Spooky Scary Skeletons” drop before all went quiet on the Eastern front. Mixed and mastered by Vladimir Lehtinen (Grima, Neorhythm, Ultar) at Blastbear Sound, “Arrival of a Train” marks the groups return, with vocalist Darya Rorria, bassist Maxim Belekhov, drummer Andrew Drew and guitarist keyboard player Alexander Pavlovich looking they escaped from Arkham Asylum having somehow got free from their straight jackets.
The aesthetics of Tardigrade Inferno feel like they’re in a similar vein to Avatar with a macabre sense of unhinged fun written all over the band with each song elevated into more of a theatrical performance at a dark circus or grotesque carnival. This chapter in their story begins with the title track, a stomp-y Alternative Metal chugging as the band marches into town, Rorria using a variety of voices to deliver deranged vocals as if she’s suffering from a split personality. One moment she’s Sever from Canadian Alternative Metal act Sumo Cyco and the next she’s Tatiana Shmayluk from Ukrainian Progressive Death Metal act Jinjer – and everything in between. The metaphors flow thick and fast with a sense of gallows humour and yet it’s fearfully addictive and hilariously good fun at the same time, especially when the colossal breakdown hits. How can you not want to sing a long to lines like “The train is coming and everything you love will perish, I’m the last thing you will hear, chug, chug chug!“? The dance macabre continues with “Fire, Plague and Locust“, it’s off kilter groove and buried keys a master class in setting a mood, the intelligence of the lyrics and their delivery setting the band apart from the pack with verve and swagger. A stylish decadent black joke or bloodthirsty philosophical parable, Rorria is unstoppable as the ringmaster of this group of musicians and for her they have created a soundscape perfectly fitting. From: https://metalnoise.net/2023/05/review-arrival-of-a-train-by-tardigrade-inferno
