[OUTTA070] Poztman – Blood, Steel & Rust

Release: OUTTA070

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Buy On: Bandcamp / Spotify / SoundCloud / YouTube Music / Apple Music / Amazon Music / Deezer / Tidal
Label: Outtallectuals
Release Date: August 16, 2024

Presenting Poztman’s debut album on Outtallectuals, “Blood, Steel & Rust”; a powerful tale of resilience and the human spirit’s tenacity in the face of catastrophe.

Blending a biopunk folklore narrative and dark avant-garde electronic music, the album showcases Poztman’s signature mix of IDM, neuro beats, and cinematic tribal elements. The project follows from the Rites Of Calling EP, released via Outtallectuals in 2020.

Read each song’s lyrics below for the full story.

All songs composed, mixed & mastered by Poztman:
https://linktr.ee/Poztman

Artwork by Louis-Alexandre Louchard
https://www.artstation.com/lalouchard

Released by Outtallectuals

Supported by STUDIO, TIMEWHEEL, Rendah Mag, #internetghetto, Shivelight, Impulse

Story (Track-by-Track)

Rite Of Alix

This story brings us back to Alix, 15 years after completing his Rites of Calling. The young boy has grown into a man. The village has flourished over the years, witnessing bountiful harvests and a sense of abundance that has banished hunger to the realm of memory.

Dao, Alix’s best friend, became the village’s headhunter. Not only for game but also for the precious Essence from Steelings. As biotechnically enhanced humans, the villagers need Essence to feed the Nanocytes who they live in symbiosis with.

His other friend, Rell, dedicated herself to be the guardian for the village. That’s the trouble of a growing village, it needs a guardian. The village might be too crowded for Steelings or wild animals, it can still attract other potential threats… Alix himself is now a figure of guidance, serving as the mentor for those who seek to undertake the challenging Rites of Calling. Over the years, Alix has also dedicated himself to the mastery of his unique abilities. His powers, once raw, have now been honed. He can see through people, both literally and figuratively. He can predict the movements of others, see possible weaknesses, but also the potential that lies within individuals, as well as their deepest intentions. This makes him an ideal mentor, capable of guiding his pupils not just through the trials they face, but also helping them towards self- discovery.

Nyathi

Nyathi, an exceptional child, stands out as the most promising pupil that Alix has ever had the privilege of teaching. Nyathi was found by the villagers as a toddler near the hunting grounds. It was his golden eyes that struck against the dark canopy. Despite his young age, Nyathi possesses immense potential that is seldom seen, even among the elders of the village. His unique ability to sense, influence, and on occasion, even control the elusive Steelings, is a feat that has left many in awe and disbelief.

Beyond his remarkable abilities, what truly sets Nyathi apart is his kind and compassionate heart. His kindness is a beacon of light in the village, earning him the affection and respect of his peers and elders alike. Alix studied his powers with his own Calling, noticing tendrils sprouting from Nyathi invisible to others. Peculiar, but not concerning to Alix. However, Nyathi’s extraordinary gift comes with its own set of challenges, as the unpredictable nature of his powers poses a potential risk. Not only for Alix, but for the entire village.

As Nyathi grows, so does the power he wields, and the village watches with bated breath, hopeful yet wary. Despite these concerns, Nyathi is determined and ready to take on his Rites of Calling, a pivotal moment that will mark his transition from a boy to a man, from a student to a master, and from a potential threat to a potential savior.

Interrupted Celebrations

Nyathi successfully completes the Rites, a series of complex and demanding tests, with just a mere glance, demonstrating exceptional skills. He distinguishes himself in all five of these Rites, an achievement that is no small feat. His village, in recognition of this extraordinary accomplishment, holds a grand celebration in his honor, as well as in honor of the other pupils who manage to ascend through the Rites.

However, amidst the joyful celebrations, a disastrous event occurs that casts a dark shadow over the festivities. Seeking to demonstrate his newly acquired powers, Nyathi inadvertently corrupts the minds of some fellow villagers. They die without exception but aren’t blessed with a swift death. At first, only those in proximity to Nyathi seemed to be afflicted. Alix wants to get closer to the young man, but Dao stops him. A good decision, as the Corruption starts to

Spread amongst villagers. Screams break out, as other villagers succumb to the deathly grip of Nyathi’s power. Some lucky survivors are unaffected but forced to witness the horror that unfolds. Amidst the chaos, Alix stands frozen looking at Nyathi. He uses his Calling to uncover how the Corruption is spreading: He not only sees the invisible tendrils sprouting from Nyathi, but they are penetrating villagers and proliferating further from there.

Dao takes him away before he too dies in the hands of Nyathi.

Haze Walk

As the villagers fall one by one, the Corruption spreads like an infectious disease across the village, picking targets at random. Nyathi, in a desperate attempt to control the damage, tries to suppress his influence, to lock away the dangerous power he has unleashed. But even his efforts prove futile against the overwhelming force of the Corruption.

Despite his attempts to resist, the corruption eventually takes hold of him as well. His mind, once clear and focused, now becomes the very epicenter of the spreading corruption, rendering him a puppet to the very power he sought to control. The Calling of Alix unveils to him how the thin tendrils get engorged and spread even more violently. But that’s not all: The tendrils also seem to reach the Rings where Nyathi stood during the celebration. The thought of something affecting the sacred Rings horrified Alix.

Corrupted Nyathi revives the villagers he had just recently slaughtered, bereaving them of a peaceful passing. He manipulates them like marionettes, his will seeping into them and twisting them into something unrecognizable. As if in a nightmare, the Corrupted beings that were once the people of the village start to attack their kin and neighbors without mercy. The once-tranquil community descends further into chaos. Blood flows like a river, staining the ground crimson as more and more people fall victim to the Corruption. Allies become adversaries and survival hangs in the balance.

Blood And Steel

Alix and Dao summon the courage to fight back against the encroaching darkness. They throw themselves into the fray, their hearts filled with determination and fear. But the Corrupted are too many, their strength too great. They get overwhelmed by the persistent tide of Corrupted villagers. In the overwhelming event, Alix’s parents are tragically killed. His world shatters as he watches them fall, their faces etched with a final expression of fear and sorrow. He lost his pupils, his family, and the community he worked so hard to nourish.

Dao experiences a similar heartbreak as he loses his siblings to the Corruption. Grief-stricken, he fights with the desperation of someone who has nothing left to lose.

Rell gets wounded and faces an unthinkable situation. She is forced to kill her lover, who has also fallen to the Corruption. The act leaves her emotionally scarred, a wound in her heart that may never truly heal. The village is in ruins, its people lost, and its future uncertain.

In a desperate bid for survival, the battered survivors flee their once-thriving village, pursued relentlessly by the twisted figures of their former neighbors and loved ones, their anguished cries echoing through the mist-shrouded wilderness.

Fortunately for the village, Dao is blessed with great scouting skills. His cunning guides the survivors through the wilds, away from the corrupted villagers. As they press deeper into the forbidding landscape, Alix’s sister tends to the wounded, her heart heavy with the realization that the injuries inflicted by the Corrupted refuse to heal.

The Deep Bog

Nowhere else to go, the villagers flee towards the Deep Bog. This is a dangerous and forbidden land, where they hope the Corrupted won’t follow them. In the Bog, amidst the murky marshlands, lies the domain of the Rust tribe: A disparate band of outcasts and renegades who shun the influence of the Harvesters and Rings. Yet, even amidst this inhospitable terrain, the survivors find themselves beset by dangerous wildlife, deadly Steelings, the relentless hunger of the Nanocytes living within each villager and the festering wounds that refuse to close.

While on their traversal through the Deep Bog, Rell seems to succumb to her wounds caused by the Corrupted. She falls into a coma and several other survivors seem to get worse at a worrying rate.

Rust Witch

Upon their arrival in the Rust Village, the survivors are greeted with an eerie hospitality. The Rust Witch lives here, a woman with peculiar powers of affliction but also renown as a talented healer. Desperate, Alix asks for an audience with her. The Rust tribe uncannily welcomes him into the Witch’s home for an audience. In a revelation fraught with both hope and trepidation, the Rust Witch unveils the perilous truth behind the bond with the Rings: A revelation that offers a glimmer of salvation amidst the encroaching darkness.

Overclock Ritual

The Rust Witch tends to the wounds of the survivors, but some like Rell seem to be far too afflicted to be cured by conventional means. The Rust Witch proposes a possible cure: Sever the afflicted from the connection with the Rings. It will dampen their powers granted by their Calling, but make them immune to the Corruption, as it seems that the bond with the Rings acts like a vector for the affliction. The survivors reluctantly accept her proposal.

The ritual heals Rell and the other survivors. She feels her connection to the Rings is severed and her strength lost. She’s grateful to be alive however and rallies Alix and the survivors to claim back their village, now they know how to fight the Corruption: Destroying the Rings.

Feral Code

As they decide to reclaim their village, the survivors get ambushed by the Corrupted. They attack the villagers and the Rust tribe alike. Other casualties fall, but the survivors can halt the attack and prepare for their own counterstrike. The Rust Witch decides to help them.

Dao incapacitates the key targets in a climactic showdown, while Alix and Rell fight a powerful Nyathi. With the aid of the Rust Witch, they succeed in destroying the corrupting influence of the Rings, paving the way for Nyathi’s downfall at the hands of Alix.

Burial Expunge

With their village reclaimed, Alix, Dao, and Rell find themselves enveloped in a solemn silence, broken only by the mournful whispers of the wind that carries the echoes of battle and loss. With heads bowed in reverence, they pay homage to the fallen, their hearts heavy with the memory of those who had stood beside them, now lost to the relentless tide of darkness. Each name spoken is a lamentation while the village collectively buries the fallen.

Together, led by Alix’s sister, they sing a mournful but hopeful song. With every note sung, they weave a tapestry of resilience and determination, a testament to the village’s enduring demeanor. In the darkest hours, amidst the ruins of what once was, they find they stand united as never before.

After the burial of the fallen, Alix stares at the shattered Ring. It had served as the spiritual and communal center of their village. Hundreds of youngsters were blessed with their Calling here. A fair share of them mentored by guides just like him. The words of the Rust Witch linger within his thoughts. The Rings form a hidden danger. Were the teachings of the Harvesters, creators of the Rings, a lie?