EP Review: "Tenebrific" by Cancelled

Tenebrific

A recurring theme in my reviews is considering an artist's home as their main influence. There are a great many examples of the home turf changing the landscape of music.

Sanktuary, from The Yukon Territory, have a running sound that almost screams so people don't lose them.  Sabbatory, hailing from the coldest city in the world, Winnipeg, also sound affected by the brutal cold of their hometown.

What makes today's reviewee interesting is that his hometown is not what influenced the music we're hearing today. This project is a solo effort from Marc Bourgon of Cambridge, Ontario.

He's a member of other bands as well. The songs on Tenebrific were written and somewhat recorded while riding in the tour van.

As someone who's made the journey from Buffalo, NY to Sarnia, Ontario, I can tell you there's large swaths of that trek where the Royal Highways look like backwoods State Roads here.

Marc Bourgon of Cancelled and Fuck The Facts

If I weren't the driver when I made that jaunt, writing music would have sounded like a great idea.

Tenebrific was originally intended to be an LP rather than an EP, but at the end of the day, the three songs chosen felt like the meat of the material.

So that's what we have.

And what is that?

I really don't know. In terms of what kind of music this is...it's very hard to categorize. What pops into my head is Black Metal Pink Floyd, but that seems wholly inaccurate.

This is truly a solo project, as Bourgon, is the only member of this "group." He performed all vocals, all bass guitars, all synths, and all programmed drums. Ergo, this EP is largely created on the computer and without human hands.

It would seem that your friend and humble narrator would be feeling left out in the cold as there's no lead guitar, but I can dig it. The synths seem to not really overpower anything. They are never out in front, so it's hard to give an impression of them.

These three tracks will take the listener on a journey of want, of haves, and of diaspora.

Release: 3/3/17
Genre: Post Metal
Label: DIY
Formats: Digital
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