So let's get this out of the way: Rémi 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 gutteral vocals kind of way, but 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 Rémi could go even further. Acts like Autechre and Four Tet have made music of a similar vein that is painful to listen to. The Algorithm seem like a bridging band when compared to them. But in the world of rock’n’roll, this is a delightful curveball.
