Paresis - Last Shadow

pa·re·sis (p-rss, pr-ss)
n. pl. pa·re·ses (-sz)
1. Slight or partial paralysis.
2. General paresis.
3. Industrial/Metal/Trance Crossover from The UK.


It's not quite canon, but that's how the Oxford English Dictionary should look a few years from now. Headed by sole member Simon Fuller (No, not he who discovered the Spice Girls - No chance of us writing about that cockwomble here anytime soon), Paresis takes Fuller's potent, obvious Metal background and creates a fusion of seriously aggressive Industrial.

"Last Shadow"" opens with a tinny Guitar sound reminscent of Big Black's "Atomizer", segued between some un-characteristically rhythmic drum work. It blends in with the main Guitar, and ends up giving the spotlght to Fuller's strong, Black Metal-esque vocals. I'm reminded strongly of Miko from Clandestine Blaze meets the dude from Ad Hominem. Rather noticeably, the lyrics on the tracks are coherent, rendering the entire package akin to an unexpected Christmas Present. Here's the clincher though; do not expect Socks. This is much more welcoming. The trance-like synth exactly halfway through the song is completely unexpected and completely made my day.


"Demons We Are" acts as the avatar and slogan for the official Paresis t-shirt (I'll model it on request), and starts off like its predecessor rather drum-heavy. It's a lot closer to Metal than before, and has some 'horror' style sounds on it. It's a pretty good 'chalk and cheese' style approach, but it doesn't add any garnish to the release, other than acting as a brilliant piece of exposure. However, the chorus is incredible, and may turn more than a few heads.


"At Your Command" Starts off with a computerised voice and is the first proper Industrial track on here. Electronics all the way, it's more Kommand + Kontrol than Nargaroth; but then something AWESOME happens. Out of nowhere, a typical buzz-saw Black Metal guitar riff kicks in, and is replaced out of the blue by some well-written synth. This isn't meant to happen. It really, really works!

Actually, Paresis has something going for it. The genre-bending is a huge risk to take, but this combines some of the finest of both genres, and does it with aplomb. Fuller is a genuinely lovely guy, I've met him a couple of times briefly and seen the live show, which you have to see to really believe - if not for this awesome cover alone (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMAKYhkqtHI)

With remixes from Cease2xist, Dirty K, Goteki and Haru Yasumi among others, the UK shines through on this golden EP. May 21 2013