London, UK black metal act CALLIGRAM have today shared a new single, Ostranenie, from their upcoming album, Position | Momentum. Ostranenie is the third track to be taken their sophomore full-length, which is due out via Prosthetic Records on July 14. On Ostranenie, CALLIGRAM expand ever further on Position | Momentum‘s celebration of chaos. Alongside the new single, CALLIGRAM have also recently announced UK tour dates in July – with further details below.
Stream Ostranenie via Apple Music | TIDAL | Deezer | Bandcamp and Spotify
Pre-order Position | Momentum here.
Speaking on Ostranenie, CALLIGRAM comments: “Ostranenie is a word that Russian formalists used for Defamiliarization. This is what life is all about: fighting habits, seeking desire undiluted by habits. Habits ruin everything, they make everything flat and plain. Defamiliarization is the impossible aim to experience everything like it was the first time and it’s the central concepts of art, poetry and of course music.
“The purpose of art and music is to impart the sensation of things as they are perceived and not as they are known. The technique of art is to make objects ‘unfamiliar’, to make forms difficult. The function of art to renew our perception. What we are familiar with we cease to see. Position | Momentum and its celebration of chaos shakes up the “familiar scene” giving a new meaning to it.”
Joy can be found in the most unlikely of places. A listen through CALLIGRAM‘s latest offering may not instantly conjure up feelings of immediate joy, but rest assured – between the blistering howls and blackened riffs, there is much to celebrate.
Position | Momentum saw the group decamp to The Parlour Studios in Kettering to record with Russ Russell (Napalm Death, Dimmu Borgir, At The Gates) during the summer of 2022. The follow up to 2020’s The Eye Is The First Circle doesn’t ease up on intensity; if anything, giving the chaos a little more room to breathe has shaped CALLIGRAM into something even more formidable than before.
Sonically, the band has further refined their amalgamation of bilious D-beat punk and ice cold black metal. The results are as abrasive as one would hope, but ceding space to atmospheric passages helps create a claustrophobic, ominous ambience to proceedings; allowing some light in only serves to accentuate the darkness further.
Once again vocals are delivered in Matteo Rizzardo’s native Italian – and even those who don’t speak the language should soon pick up the jist of his missives. Tales of pain, chaos, struggle and anxiety are poured into each anguished scream, a growing sense of combustibility becomes palpable as the album progresses. But Rizzardo is keen to clarify that Position | Momentum is not about catharsis through music: this is not his therapy.
The hardest work for Rizzardo was done away from the band as he walked along a path of acceptance and self-analysis. As the burdens on his shoulders grew heavier and the darkness became all-consuming he set out to understand, embrace and reclaim the darkest parts of himself. Position | Momentum documents his feelings looking back at troubled times – with clarity, acceptance, and yes – joy. Reflecting on his experiences with some emotional distance meant that the lyrics came easily; Rizzardo describes them as ‘flying out’ – a purging of sorts.
Music is often seen as medicine; a balm to soothe what ails you. With no intention to use Position | Momentum as a crutch, CALLIGRAM has crafted the opposite – a caustic celebration of pain, death and chaos.
Position | Momentum tracklist:
1. Sul Dolore
2. Frantumi In Itinere
3. Eschilo
4. Tebe
5. Per Jamie
6. Ostranenie
7. Ex-Sistere
8. Seminario Dieci
CALLIGRAM is:
Matteo Rizzardo – vocals
Ardo Cotones – drums / vocals
Bruno Cambiaghi – guitar
Tim Desbos – guitar
Smittens – bass
