So, let’s get this out of the way early: Remi Gallego, aka The Algorithm, doesn’t play metal. But if you’re wondering why the hell he’s in this magazine, one listen to Octopus4 should be enough to convince those whose minds aren’t crowbarred shut that there is a place in our world for music this frantic, complex and, crucially, heavy.
Because this is heavy – not in a thrashing guitars and guttural vocals kind of way that metalheads may be way more au fait with, but heavy in a massive, head-battering, relentless collage of noise sort of way. If you thought electronic music was easy to listen to Will Smith and aptly named Damage Points, with their brain-melting, wince-inducing slabs of tar-thick grooves, filled in with scattershot daggers of broken beats, will convince you otherwise.
If there is one criticism then it’s that, if anything, Gallego could go even further. Acts like Autechre and Fourtet have made music of a similar vein that is often genuinely painful to listen to. The Algorithm seem almost like a bridging band when compared to their sonic extremity. But, in the world of rock ’n’ roll, this is a delightful curveball.
