Metal, Hardcore, Indie, Rock
Tardigrade Inferno, the ultimate masters of horror metal cabaret from St.Petersburg, are ready to broaden the horizons of phantasmagoria with their new album, “Hush”, that’s going to see the light (if such a term can ever be applied to a record so dark and gloomy) on the 5th of March 2026.
All “Hush” songs can be roughly divided into two groups: “good old classics” and “new era”. Basically, first four songs are Tardigrade Inferno we are already familiar with, “The Final Show” is an undisguised homage to the previous album “Burn The Circus”; “Hide’n’Seek” is a classical macabre ball tune and – surprise – fully in Russian language; “Deadly Fairytales” is the flamboyant cartoonish banger of the album, with strong “We Are Number One” vibes; “All In Your Head” is like an evil cousin of “Hide’n’Seek”, but performed in both English and Russian languages; “Subatomic Heist” has a solemn instrumental prelude and a wild energy, spiced up with Tardigrade Inferno’s circus entertainer’s vocals. This song, together with “The Final Show”, are the shortest on the album – less than three minutes.
And, as we’ve started speaking about the length of the songs, the first thing you may probably notice further as “not as it used to be” – is the average length of the rest of the songs, which is 5 minutes and more. These songs are like stories and the longer you dive into them – the more you appreciate them. You enjoy the vintage sounding synths that create a whole new level of spooky-scary(synths are all over the album, but “Goor” is one of the most vivid examples); taste the atmosphere of an almost unplugged performance in a noir smoky bar(“Dead Fish Smile”, the distinguished ballad on the album); get stunned by the Rorria’s vocals’ flexibility and versatility, ranging from loud clownish grotesque chants and animal growls to gentle and tragic soft singing and dramatic declarations – all this expressiveness cannot be overestimated; and, of course, admire the guitars, bass. and drums, which frame the vocals thunderously, adding volumes to the atmosphere when interlaced (“Hush” is a marvellous example how all the instruments are built upon the rhythmic pattern and create an avalanche of sound), as well as adding powerful detailed strokes to the song when one gets more prominent (“I Am Eternal” treats listeners with some blastbeat!).
The whole album is a unique piece, and, also, very more mature. Tardigrade Inferno are all about horror stuff, so if before I’d have compared their songs with the movie “Beetlejuice” by Tim Burton, now it’s also partially Kubricks “The Shining”. The fear is no longer just phantasmagorical and infernal, but also more sophisticated and profound – like, actually, psycholohicall pressure and emotional tension is also frightening, not just creepy stories and monsters under the bed. This, in my opinion, allows us to reffer Tardigrade Inferno’s “Hush” to a piece of expressionistic art.
Tracklist:
