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Liminality

by Dog Mask

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galetazzin
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galetazzin This album has top-tier percussion and guitar riffs throughout. Seriously some of the best I've ever heard. The fuzzy sound quality gives the intended feeling of claustrophobia without compromising the listener's ability to hear the lyrics. The result is beautiful and wise, dark but clear, like an obsidian knife. Favorite track: Lycanthrope.
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Petrov Neutrino
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T-Dawg
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damaku250
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javalactone
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Raymond
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1.
Begotten 02:56
lyrics
Thresholds Beyond all comprehending Cycles Life and death never ending Language Convulsing flesh in dirty rain Violence Consecrated methods of pain Begotten, not made Forgotten, slow fade Begotten, not made Forgotten, slow fade Fires Always rising from the mayhem Idols God is dead and we have killed them Artists Liberating the subconscious Daydream Of returning to the cosmos Begotten, not made Forgotten, slow fade Begotten, not made Forgotten, slow fade Begotten, not made Forgotten, slow fade Begotten, not made Forgotten, slow fade
2.
Doppelganger 03:25
lyrics
All-white eyes Crafting a mask of comedy Tell them what they want to hear Be sure the disguise is never seen Digital persona Avatars of mimicry Endless reflection upon reflection Deconstruct who you want to be Twin Signals combined Two of a kind Perfect blue skies Red with anger Sin Double-crossed signs Walking both lines Little white lies Doppelganger All-black eyes Crafting a mask of tragedy Ask them what you want to hear Ensure their disguise will be seen Analog persona Avatars of synecdoche Endless reflection upon reflection Reconstruct who you want to be Twin Signals combined Two of a kind Perfect blue skies Red with anger Sin Double-crossed signs Walking both lines Little white lies Doppelganger Jekyll and Hyde Coin with same sides Jekyll and Hyde Coin with same sides Jekyll and Hyde Coin with same sides Jekyll and Hyde Coin with same sides Twin Signals combined Two of a kind Perfect blue skies Red with anger Sin Double-crossed signs Walking both lines Little white lies Doppelganger
3.
Spirit Duplicator 03:34
lyrics
I want to tear my face off to reveal what's underneath We’re all just trying to live our lives by the skin of our teeth All of human existence reduced to datasets for machines I’m watching my life play out on a movie screen Silver halide memories Narrative manipulator Show the ghosts of futures past With the spirit duplicator Razor blades from beyond the grave altering our history Looking for all the answers only creates more mystery I look through the camera obscura for advice on how to function I’m a work of art in an age of mechanical reproduction Silver halide memories Narrative manipulator Show the ghosts of futures past With the spirit duplicator Silver halide memories Narrative manipulator Show the ghosts of futures past With the spirit duplicator
4.
Lycanthrope 04:42
lyrics
Don't worry, I’ll help you through this Just take it slow Take a deep, deep breath, in 3, 2— Shadow in the moonlight Cross the river, cross the pond Cities in the daylight Hide 'til dusk, free 'til dawn And you have no need for fear When the wind blows past your ears I can hear the fire crackling Unleash the wolf within And you have no need for shame When the moon calls out your name I can hear your bones cracking Unleash the wolf within The first seed has been sown Free your heart, free your mind And no one is alone Find your pack, find your guide And you have no need for fear When the wind blows past your ears I can hear the fire crackling Unleash the wolf within And you have no need for shame When the moon calls out your name I can hear your bones cracking Unleash the wolf within Run, run, run (As fast as you can) Run through the forest Any way the wind blows Run, run, run (As fast as you can) Run through the forest Faster than the shadows Run, run, run (As fast as you can) Run through the forest Any way the wind blows Run, run, run (As fast as you can) Run through the forest Faster than the shadows
5.
Infernal Council 03:47
lyrics
Drops of blood Splatter on the grass Worshipping tyrants Like witches at black mass Vampires Sucking us dry Demons Telling us lies Creatures Darken the sky Monsters Letting us die Satan presiding Over a black sun Witch hunts and snitching Master of the evil tongue Windows of discourse Shifting every day Cultural hegemony Whatever the rulers say Vampires Sucking us dry Demons Telling us lies Creatures Darken the sky Monsters Letting us die Vampires Sucking us dry Demons Telling us lies Creatures Darken the sky Monsters Letting us die
6.
Somnambulist 05:03
lyrics
Sleepwalking Keep talking Sleepwalking Keep talking Sleepwalking Keep talking Sleepwalking Keep talking Sleepwalking Keep talking Sleepwalking Keep talking Sleepwalking Keep talking Sleepwalking Keep talking We are all living inside a dream Swimming through subconscious river streams Mouth and eyes wide shut to keep from screaming But who is dreaming? We are all living inside a dream Swimming through subconscious river streams Mouth and eyes wide shut to keep from screaming But who is dreaming? We are all living inside a dream Swimming through subconscious river streams Mouth and eyes wide shut to keep from screaming But who is dreaming?
7.
Hyperreality 04:26
lyrics
Digital footprints Permanently carved in the sand An endless firehose of spectacles In the palm of your hand The future’s been cancelled The past only implied Authenticity in cyberspace A plastic world outside Simulate the unreal Dissociate what you feel Generate a new zeal for the past Reify the facade Commodify who you are Truth dies when lies are taken for fact Shadows projected by candlelight On the wall of a cave Illusion and reality Create the same brainwaves Observe the procession of simulacra Life imitates art What actually matters but is hard to find Is what comes from the heart Simulate the unreal Dissociate what you feel Generate a new zeal for the past Reify the facade Commodify who you are Truth dies when lies are taken for fact Simulate the unreal Dissociate what you feel Generate a new zeal for the past Reify the facade Commodify who you are Truth dies when lies are taken for fact
8.
Sisyphus 04:19
lyrics
Absurdity of the universe Going through the motions Existence playing a game with itself Disguised in a storm cloud of emotions Battering rams to tear down the castle We must break the strange loop of our ego Defense mechanisms against uncertainties Molecular mirrors to reflect on how we grow Push the boulder up the mountain Watch it tumble downward again Push the boulder up the mountain Watch it tumble downward again Push the boulder up the mountain Watch it tumble downward again Push the boulder up the mountain Watch it tumble downward again Constant confrontation, constant revolt Impostor syndrome anticipated Waiting for Godot, waiting for a jolt Our endgames always end up stalemated Discard the stereotype of tortured artists Unearth the trauma of hauntology Between the Angel and the Abyss Living and dying simultaneously Push the boulder up the mountain Watch it tumble downward again Push the boulder up the mountain Watch it tumble downward again Push the boulder up the mountain Watch it tumble downward again Push the boulder up the mountain Watch it tumble downward again One must imagine Sisyphus happy One must imagine Sisyphus happy One must imagine Sisyphus happy One must imagine Sisyphus happy One must imagine Sisyphus happy One must imagine Sisyphus happy One must imagine Sisyphus happy One must imagine Sisyphus happy Push the boulder up the mountain Watch it tumble downward again Push the boulder up the mountain Watch it tumble downward again Push the boulder up the mountain Watch it tumble downward again Push the boulder up the mountain Watch it tumble downward again Again Again Again Again
9.
Ghostwood 04:30
lyrics
The ghosts of trees appear Before my eyes With their branches They cover up the sky Hazy shafts of light To pierce the fog Dazzling limelights Shine on fallen logs The forest floor Is soft and still No screams will Break the icy chill Countless victims Cry in silence there Yet their traumas echo All across the air Haunted by the memory, haunted by the memory Haunted by the memory, haunted by the memory Haunted by the memory, haunted by the memory Haunted by the memory, haunted by the memory It lives beneath the floorboards (Haunted by the memory, haunted by the memory) It lives inside the picture frames (Haunted by the memory, haunted by the memory) It lives within motherboards (Haunted by the memory, haunted by the memory) It lives inside of things unnamed (Haunted by the memory, haunted)
10.
Liminality 07:55
lyrics
Enter through the doorway Something's not right The impossible hallway Devoid of any light Lost in a liminal space Lost in a liminal place Lost in a liminal space Lost in a liminal place Staircases to nowhere Labyrinths of ash Bigger on the inside Endless winding paths Lost in a liminal space Lost in a liminal place Lost in a liminal space Lost in a liminal place Through the looking-glass (Who’s staring back at me?) Through the looking-glass Through the looking-glass (That’s not a face I’ve seen) Through the looking-glass Through the looking-glass (Who’s staring back at me?) Through the looking-glass (That's not a face I’ve seen) Through the looking-glass (Who’s staring back at me?) Through the looking-glass (That’s not a face I’ve seen) We’re always in transition Undoing all that came before Organic revolution Unlocking every chained-up door Or maybe we’re just acting In some grand and cosmic play A show performed for each other Otherwise we fade away Exit, stage left Exit, stage right Exit, stage left Exit, stage right Pull back the curtain Turn off the spotlight And cross the threshold Into your new life
11.
A Fragile State of Mind 07:37
lyrics
I've endeavored to be honest, though I've lied to myself What used to be familiar is now alien to me Everybody wears a mask To avoid the ever-present task Of confronting the painful truth of what they see I'll carry a lantern to light the way, Though I don't remember the path If you're bleeding on the cobblestones, Then you should have done the math You can't rely on someone else for your fate They'll leave you shattered like a porcelain plate You desperately grab for the pieces, but it's too late You're lost in a fragile state of mind Oh, the minotaur is lurking behind a corner up ahead And yet we fear the walls most of all You can chop off the beast's head And confirm that it's dead But it doesn't make the labyrinth fall I'll carry a lantern to light the way, Though I don't remember the path If you're bleeding on the cobblestones, Then you should have done the math You can't rely on someone else for your fate They'll leave you shattered like a porcelain plate You desperately grab for the pieces, but it's too late You're lost in a fragile state of mind So much of life is scribbled down on lost paper scraps You observe today, but tomorrow will you act? Throw off the desperation, And rejoice in celebration That you've managed to keep your sanity intact I'll carry a lantern to light the way, Though I don't remember the path If you're bleeding on the cobblestones, Then you should have done the math You can't blame everybody else for your hate Your scars can't force you to carry that weight You desperately grab for the latches to close the gate You're found, time to leave it all behind

about

Liminality: a state of transition that exists between one stage and the next, especially during a rite of passage or between major stages in one’s life. Liminality is neither separation nor incorporation; it is the ambiguous transitional state residing in-between.

In their debut full-length album of the same name, Dog Mask plunges the listener into the abyss of this ambiguity to see what lessons can be learned, while pushing their music beyond the thresholds of their previous work.

The nightmarish sound of this album takes sonic inspiration from multiple musical and artistic influences to create a haunting yet confrontational style. Although it incorporates the aggression of industrial and post-punk as well as the cold chill of goth rock and darkwave, the album’s idiosyncratic approach primarily comes from a willingness to experiment with a diverse palette of influences and genres. Much like the ambiguous nature of liminality, the sound of this album resides in the spaces between genres.

The lyrics of these songs all tie into the album’s central concept in different ways, describing the various major and minor transitional states one might find themselves in. The deeper meaning of these songs is left as an exercise for the listener, to allow them to discover their own subjective, intuitive, and personal truths within.

No matter what the next threshold may be that you need to cross, may this album give you strength, comfort, energy, and guidance.

The door is open for you.

All you have to do is step through it.

credits

released October 31, 2022

All composition, production, and art design by Dog Mask. Recorded throughout 2022, except “A Fragile State of Mind”, which contains recordings from 2014.

Special thanks to everyone who has supported the creation of this album, especially my partner.

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Dog Mask Ontario

A person in a dog mask who makes dark music for dark times. Dog Mask fuses the intensity of goth, post-punk, and industrial music with the forward-thinking sensibilities of electronic music, art rock, internet media, and the avant-garde. It is the firm belief of this musician that you must thoroughly understand your shadows to discover by deduction what remains—the light. ... more

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