Bridge Of Sacrifice is the second full length album by London based Ukrainian Black metal synth pop act Powerplant who are the solo project of Theo Zhykharyev who this time around has enlisted the help of Hani Hooper on Cello and Otta, Lauren Auder, Lloyd Clipston, Hani Hooper and Kristian Szwedziu on backing vocals . The album was Mixed and mastered by Stanley Gravett at Holy Mountain studios in Hackney.
The album opens with the title track Bridge Of Sacrifice that has switching black metal/indie pop vocals that asks, just what is your particular Bridge Of Sacrifice, what is the hill you'll die on, the music also see-saws between dark neo-Black metal screeds of electro and rampaging guitars with indie dance keyboards.
Running Cross is something your personal trainer should have warned you against, you will be more likely to injure yourself, that said if you try to keep up with the pace of the drums while on your Peloton you will certainly injure yourself, so instead dance frantically and let the music calm you down, no matter how angsty it sounds.
Florida opens in the style of Sektor Gaza with a dark soviet beat, that the black metal vocals add a danker edge too, particularly on the growled chorus of Florida that sounds like you've been trapped in Mar A Lago and want to be able to get the hell out, back to safety, while the choral backing vocals help you find a way back to a saner place.
Transactions has an odd Ukrainian folk pop edge to the music, that is distorted through the synths and has interesting lyrics, explaining what stopped him loving you, it was one of those transactions you shouldn't have made.
The Fork is slow cello led ballad for the person Theo wants to stick The Fork into, in a room full of skulls and bones where the dark despair is all the more apparent, while you grasp your crucifix hoping for salvation.
Hall Of Wolves is full to the brim with rampant synths and crushing blast beat drumming, along with the growled vocals making this sound like a dark update on Gallows Orchestra Of Wolves, even in the electro-psychobilly breakdown is head scratching in the best ways, this has an unrelenting feel that keeps the angst close to Powerplant's chest.
Bad Moon Motel almost strays into Type O Negative territory, before the screeds of black metal vocals and guitars take over, making this a true horror hotel experience, of feeling like you are in hell at the Bad Moon Motel a place that makes Hostel feel like a 5 star experience.
Last Wheel takes jangling guitars and twists them through a needle or three, to find the darker meaning within, of what the Last Wheel is all about. Arborglyph is about symbols carved into trees that might signal a safe way through the forest, when you are seeking a way to safety, or they could be warnings of evil up ahead, listen to the slow piano and vocals that don't want time, before the battering ram drums and guitars hit full force like a surprise attack.
Red Death has obvious meanings when being sung by a Ukrainian artist living in exile in the 2020's, rampaging synths sound like the approaching rabble of a red army looking to destroy, for no other reason than they can, the bowel shaking vocals aren't always easy to understand, but then the never ending March of the Red Death is pretty hard to understand too. The Album closes with Wingspan that has a lighter dance edge, for taking flight to less crowded places, while feeling quite poppy and still hopeful for a better tomorrow.
Find out more at https://arcanedynamics.bigcartel.com/product/powerplant-bridge-of-sacrifice-lp https://www.facebook.com/ppowerplant/?locale=en_GB https://ppowerplant.bandcamp.com/album/bridge-of-sacrifice
