Mindspawn - Parasite Theory

Mindspawn

Parasite Theory
self-released; 2014

3.7 out of 5

By Matt Jensen

The idea for the album Parasite Theory by Mindspawn sounds more like a science fiction/horror film than that of an album. In the artist's own words, “the idea came from thinking that the intelligence of modern humans might've came to be due to an ancient pre-human foraging in a swamp and being ‘infected/attacked’ by a parasite that became a part of the brainstem, altering the DNA of the subject and is carried in our genes to this day. The parasite increased the intelligence of the species but also introduced madness, the capacity to ponder the horrors of an unthinkably massive universe, mostly shrouded in darkness and unknowable, yet ever beckoning.” 

Parasite Theory does in fact sound like it would easily be the soundtrack for a full-length film featuring B level actors. The music is thematic, dark and ambient. These are drawn-out soundscapes that lack percussion and rhythm, and focus on mood. As I was listening to the music I was trying to invoke the narrative that Mindspawn suggests with some success. That being said if Mindspawn didn’t introduce these ideas they would have never come to mind because the eight tracks are instrumental.  

Parasite Theory probably isn’t an album you will listen to every day, or pop in at your next party or even to get you and that special someone in the mood. It’s an album that I would say is best listened to alone, on headphones and right after you have a toke.

“Migo” combines what sounds like a field of locusts with the vastness and emptiness of space. It instills a sense of intense loneliness and solitude. The second track “Gestation” only seems to delve deeper into the darkness while “Burning Gods” sounds like the ominous winds of an alien planet. “Inquis Chaotica” contains some abrasive guitars and also some similarities to drone metal. Sunn O))) comes to mind. The closer “Machina” contains industrial sounding percussion however it is very subtle within the mix.

The concept Mindspawn talks about does have some truth to it. We are indeed beings with the capacity to ponder the horrors of an unthinkably massive universe. The key word there is horror. A nihilist may think pondering an unfathomable universe is horror but if you asked Carl Sagan he would politely disagree. Sagan would say something along the lines of  “We are indeed beings with the capacity to ponder the majesty of an unthinkably massive universe.”

With Parasite Theory there is a refusal to look at the light, wonder and majestic nature of being and the cosmos. It focuses on the darkness, solitude and unbearable lightness of being a person can feel when confronted with the weight of the universe (with a bit of a sci-fi twist). In the end it's just a matter of perspective but doesn’t negate the fact that they both exist. 

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