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At one point we were positively inundated with bands that followed the Neurosis path of post-metal, drawing on punk and hardcore to create a progressive sound that moved in new ways. The bulk of those bands went the way of the dinosaur, with a select few like Amenra, Cult of Luna, Mouth of the Architect, Rosetta and others making a dent and leaving legacies worth looking towards. Callisto was one of those bands and now one of their key members, guitarist Johannes Nygård, has returned with his own project Besra.
Besra is preparing to release a new LP called Anhedonia, via Temple of Torturous, on September 7th. The lead single "Pariah" comes readymade with a short film by Petri Erkkilä to accompany it, and Revolver is proud to debut said video above. The track is positively a monster, showing some of the discordant direction seen in Amenra with the epic fury of Neurosis, moving into the the light and shade with dramatic effect. It's muscular, emotional and just plain excellent.
Drummer Ville Kaisla, who is also one of the screenwriters of the film, had the following to say about the latest video: "Pariah is a short film about mental and substance abuse, both of which are often too shameful to share. 10% of all employed Finns are alcoholics, and estimating the real amount is guesswork. Alcohol addiction is difficult to diagnose, because the nature of the illness and attitude towards it is peculiar in Finland. Alcohol abuse has strong psychological and social dimensions, which are often connected to mental health issues. This hell that encompasses the whole family is too difficult to be spoken about in the Finnish society.
"We wanted to tell a story, which in its' way depicts our own experiences. Melancholic music and especially metal genres depict the subject, yes, but often from a neutral or even glorified perspective. We should be able to talk about things with their real names. Admitting you have a problem to your close ones is the first step towards healing and breaking the cycle."
