Track Review: Fjerstad ‘Myrrh Musk’

In January 2019, new group Fjerstad released this track on its new album, 8 Circuit Neurogasmic Trigger. It’s the latest project for Los Angeles musician and writer Chad Fjerstad. He was previously a part of LA metal bands including Dead To Fall, Nehemiah, and Children, while having enough time to publish a couple of novels as well.

This guy certainly likes to keep busy.

“Myrrh Musk” is an interesting tune, primarily characterized by its electronic instrumental sound. Upon further review of Fjerstad’s discography, this track can be seen as much less metal-core and heavy than much of his previous work. The song sounds as if it could be found on the film score to an ’80s movie.

On first listen, one can hear a bit of New Order’s “Blue Monday” within the track, with its reliance on the synthesizer throughout the song. “Myrrh Musk” would emerge as the type of song being played at a party for the characters of Bret Easton Ellis’s Less Than Zero.

After repeated plays, the track begins to evoke the work of Trent Reznor on various film scores, including The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and The Social Network.

It should come as no surprise that Fjerstad recently worked on one of his first film scores in 2017, for a short horror film. This track isn’t quite up there with Reznor’s film work, but it does a very good job of capturing a dark, strange atmosphere, that can only be described as post-apocalyptic, unique, and experimental. Yet, it never goes too far in veering off on a different tangent that you do not wish skip the track. Strange yet accessible = wanting to hear more from this album.