The Blanck Mass Sessions

While working on their sixth full-length, Violence, English rock band Editors recorded their own version before handing it over to electronic noise maestro Benjamin John Power (aka Blanck Mass), who put his own experimentally expansive spin on the tracks. Producer Leo Abrahams balanced the two extremes, resulting in what would become the final version of the album, issued in March 2018. A year later, Editors decided to give the Blanck Mass versions an official release. The Blanck Mass Sessions includes those distorted alternate visions of seven tracks from Violence (everything but "No Sound But the Wind" and "Belong"), adding previously unreleased track "Barricades." These synth-based doppelgangers amplify the digital dread and anxiety, paring away much of the guitar groove and live drumming from the originals while slathering atmospheric layers over it all. The original post-chorus squall on "Hallelujah (So Low)" transforms into a bright exploration that frosts down-tuned guitars with icy synths, resulting in a blend that might be the offspring of Bastille and Nine Inch Nails. Other highlights include a fuzzed-out take on "Nothingness" that echoes a Radiohead B-side and a towering reimagining of "Counting Spooks" that is split between an epic opening half that descends into electro-pop bliss reminiscent of a Depeche Mode remix. Elsewhere, "Violence" and "Magazine" clash and clang, providing ample remixes to the originals without changing too much of the formula. The only misstep on the album is "Darkness at the Door," which burdens the soaring original with a cluttered, atonal approach that is viscerally unsettling. Overall, hearing the early versions that preceded the final product is a delightful behind-the-scenes peek into the recording process. As a sonic complement to Violence, Blanck Mass Sessions offers a fresh perspective on one of Editors' finest albums to date. ~ Neil Z. Yeung