#333: Black Metal band of Robots and 1 Person, Electromancy!

Technical black metal composed by humans, played by physical robots. In 2018 Satyra was diagnosed with Lyme disease and quickly became too disabled to play instruments anymore. Instead of giving up, they spent the next two years slowly building robots to play instruments for them. The result is Electromancy, the robot metal band. Guitars and drums are played by Satyra’s own DIY robotic designs; their bandmates are manikins, cut up into LED fueled light shows.

In April 2020, Electromancy released their debut EP Robot Black Metal. Tracks premiered on Next Mosh and Sleeping Village, and gained excitement in numerous places including Metal Hammer, where they noted Electromancy as a band with “Epic Potential” describing the EP as “…a fascinating concept with compositional chops to deliver.“

Electromancy’s music is technical black metal, mixing black metal with bits of death metal, experimentalism, and technical composition. The robots aren’t a gimmick, they are core to the sound, allowing textures, patterns, and compositions that are not natural to and sometimes not possible for a human musician. Some of these compositional eccentricities include phasing multiple rhythmic melodies on a single instrument and simply extremely fast and chaotic composition. In addition to the robots, Satyra fills the bass frequencies with a drone horn made from a modified PVC pipe (the resulting instrument is similar to but not quite the same as a didgeridoo). This full, enveloping bass sound creates a grounded floor for the otherwise chaotic music. More than half of this album was painstakingly composed by foot during periods where Satyra’s illness made their hands unusable.

Electromancy’s lyrical themes largely revolve around Satyra’s struggle with a physical disability, the uncertainty of their lifespan with chronic illness, and the spiritual experiences brought on from facing human fragility & mortality so directly (often with surprisingly uplifting conclusions). These musical themes paired with the robotic instrumentation and the story of why this all came to be create a profoundly raw and unique experience.

Electromancy is currently signed with Metal Assault Records and will be releasing their debut album Technopagan on January 14th, 2022.

https://linktr.ee/robotmetalband

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