Tomas JÄrmyr’s "Entrails" is as much an exploration of sound as it is of silence, and the delicate balance between the two. Released on December 16, 2024, by Lamour Records, this is a bold solo outing for the Swedish percussionist, who’s known for his work with bands like Motorpsycho, Yodok, and Zu. But here, JÄrmyr isn’t chasing speed or complexity - instead, he’s plumbing the depths of metal, texture, and resonance with an approach that could be described as both meditative and confrontational.

At the heart of "Entrails" is a singular, 38-minute track that unfolds like a long, slow breath, pulsing and expanding as JÄrmyr taps, scrapes, and bowls his cymbals into existence. The idea that one man, one instrument (or rather, one family of instruments), can sustain and shape such a vast musical journey is a testament to JÄrmyr’s command over his craft. But this is no ordinary percussion performance. There are no frenetic rhythms or bombastic beats here - no, JÄrmyr’s cymbals churn, they hum, they rumble as if conjuring the very essence of the metallic world, transforming an array of simple gestures into something monumentally evocative.

The opening moments of "Entrails" are deceptively quiet. You might wonder whether this is a mistake or if the speakers are malfunctioning, but then you begin to feel it: the low, rumbling frequencies that pulse through your body rather than your ears. JÄrmyr knows something about resonance, that invisible energy that exists between sound waves and the listener. His work seems less interested in simply being heard and more in making you feel the vibrations of his cymbals in the surrounding space.

As the track progresses, these frequencies deepen. The sound swells, folds, and ripples in a way that feels almost alive. The metallic clangs are transformed into meditative drones that coexist with moments of violent dissonance, creating a sonic landscape that seems to breathe in tandem with the listener. JÄrmyr expertly manipulates the sound by varying pressure, velocity, and distance from the cymbals, generating a tactile response from the listener’s surroundings, akin to a magnetic field. It’s a piece that demands your full attention, and in return, it presents a visceral, almost spiritual engagement with the most elemental aspects of sound.

But there’s something almost funny about this album - though it’s all very serious and very deep, JÄrmyr’s method is so simple, and yet the sounds he coaxes from his cymbals are so profound, that it’s hard not to marvel at the paradox of it all. The simplicity of using just one instrument - one collection of metals - becomes a narrative in itself. What we have here is almost like an abstract meditation on the weight of the world. JÄrmyr is taking an object known for its sharpness, its clang, and transforming it into something that feels - almost strangely - like a slow, pained sigh. It’s as if the cymbals are telling us the unspoken stories of the universe, a slow, unyielding narrative about persistence, friction, and the passage of time.

What JÄrmyr’s "Entrails" proves is that beauty doesn’t always need to come from complexity. The stripped-down nature of this work, where the absence of anything but cymbals leaves so much room for expansion, leads to moments of unexpected calm and overwhelming tension in equal measure. It’s a performance that doesn’t want to entertain, it wants to communicate. The track’s nearly 40-minute runtime could easily be seen as an exercise in endurance, but that’s missing the point - "Entrails" is not something you ‘get through’, it’s something you experience.

The album is heavy - not in the sense of sonic weight or technical density - but in its emotional resonance. It’s about feeling the burden of sound, letting it surround you, draw you in, and make you reconsider your relationship with music itself. The sound of cymbals, when stripped of their usual role in rhythm and melody, becomes a pure, raw form of expression. It becomes a vessel for memory, grief, catharsis, and reflection.

Fans of JÄrmyr’s previous work will find "Entrails" to be a stark contrast - there’s no dissonant clatter or chaotic intensity here. Instead, it’s as though the percussionist has traded in his familiar mode of percussive virtuosity for a more introspective and minimalist approach. For those new to JÄrmyr, "Entrails" offers a perfect introduction to his artistry: a masterful meditation on the elemental qualities of sound and the deep emotional undercurrents it can provoke. This is a work that proves, in the most profound way, that sometimes, less is more.