Ashbreather - Hivemind (CD)

Ashbreather:  Montreal, Québec.

December 2016 was the birth of progressive sludge/death metal group, Ashbreather, featuring former members of The Wild Hunt.  As of January 2021, the band has become a trio with each member sharing vocal duties, and throwing in non-traditional metal instruments into their music.

The story is about scientists exploring the cosmos, going from planet to planet studying the various life forms by capturing subjects, dissecting them, and forming neurological links with them. In so doing, they can learn their ways first-hand. On the particular planet explored on the album, the residents are insects belonging to a hivemind, but not in the classical sense; rather than having every member follow a designated leader, every individual maintains their autonomy. As such, they are always able to hear one another’s thoughts and words as a simultaneous, never ending cacophony. The result is a hyper-judgmental, puritanical society in which all of the bugs must conform to an ever-changing image of the ideal insect.