In our search for unique sonic projects, we were thrilled to find Inclusions by Australian pioneer, Ivan Bullock – released under his long-running moniker Minorarc. The album manifests an otherworldly fusion of modern metal and classical elegance. It explores themes of unease and introspection, weaving intricate piano melodies with the crushing weight of djent-inspired guitars, so we wanted to break it down, track-by-track and explain every emotional ebb and every dimension flow that came to life through the listening experience.
The album opens with A Drizzle’s Vagrant I which sets the tone with moody bass notes, intertwined with astral piano keys, creating a surrealist energy that feels celestial as much as it feels dimensional. The opus expands with an accelerando of the piano performance as meditative accompanying strings emerge. The sentiment is spiritual, holistic and eventually slightly more haunting. There is a Clint Mansell adjacency, tapping into a cinematic allure with the composition that feels emotive and melancholic. We experience dramatic moments of silence from the keys, allowing the strings to shape the mood, which in fact speaks volumes.
Next up is Seven Times Burnt, which also comes in at an aligned seven minutes. The track opens with arpeggios and the cohesive immersive frequency that the album opener manifested. There is a dynamic depth to the intro, before electric guitar riffs and eventually an immersive industrial guitar energy overcome us. The drama is tangible, reminding us of moments from Phantom of the Opera. There is an adjacency here to grunge and progressive rock with a nod to nu-metal. It’s a trip. Fierce and unapologetic to its core. The thrashing guitars subside to introduce a celestial melody, which feels playful, but lo and behold the moody guitars re-emerge, leaving that meditative respite to be only a fleeting moment. The 8-bit charismatic riff returns, showing us that the intentional ebbs and flows of the track are designed to keep us engaged. This is no doubt absolutely wild to experience in a live setting. Unexpectedly, a piano solo emerges, showcasing the melodic tenacity of the composer, as well as the more classic elements that bind the overarching commentary that the record manifests. A subtle and rising guitar creates more cinematic drama before a melodic arpeggio hook that reminds us of early Dido comes into play. The final is a fusion of everything that we have already experience with the track – epic, cerebral, melodic and leaving us with a sense of curiosity of the remainder of the record.
This brings us to Meet The Blade which cements the album’s more cerebral nature with an almost hypnotic fairground riff, expanding with layered guitars and textured drums. The soft-metal elements in the record are brilliant, and the theatrical vibe is brought to life further with brooding dark riffs, intertwined with astral, almost bell-like tones. There is no doubt that Minorarc is a masterful composer, and his universe is poetic and dimensional. The creative ebbs and flows continue until we are met with an orchestral segment where the sting arrangements really have a chance to shine. We are once again introduced to a cosmic melody with thrashing soft guitars that reminds us of a scene from The X-Files! A moment of silence teases us, allowing us for a glimpse of introspection before the opus restarts with the dimensionality that we have come to learn is a common theme. Of course, there is never a dull moment, and we are invited back into the drama with an acid guitar element and ethereal high guitar notes. All in all a journey beyond the abyss and back. Do we feel like we have met the blade? Most certainly.
Now we have the chance to experience Three Times. This opens with a meditative synth. We feel peace for a moment before a more industrial textured element greets us, akin to a psychedelics trip with a build that we feel is expansive as much as it is conscious. There are melodic riffs that guide us further and this is what we have fallen in love with regrading Minorarc‘s body of work. It fuses the industrial with the atmospheric and melodic. There is never a moment where we feel that trends are being repeated, aside from when one looks at the wider body of work on a more holistic level. The dynamism and authenticity is highly tangible. Astral guitar notes and a peaceful frequency send us to another dimension, feeling like a spiritual awakening. This moment feels transcendental and sublime. The playful electric guitar riff eventually returns to tease us, interconnected to a stunning piano performance and roaring undertones, before a thrashing and subversive metallic energy awakens us further, reminding us that the longest track on the album also serves as the most divergent. The record thus far is truly all killer and no filler, and we expect this to continue. The final moments of Three Times are transcendental, bringing about a meditative full circle sense of closure.
Bleeding Facet kicks off with an almost 90s vibe, like the soundtrack to Melrose Place or an episode of Knight Rider. The intricacy is prevalent with astral notes and the signature thrashing guitar which cements the cohesive nature of the record. With textured drums there is a genre expansive vibe being brought to life here. It serves its cinematic purpose, whilst inviting us in to a world where we feel a sense of ancient-futurism. There is a mystical vibe that envelopes us with a high choral synth, but also a raw drumming pattern that feels existentially human. A sweet bell solo lasts a few seconds before almost satanic choral vocals bring about a vibrant darkness – aligned with the title of the track. This continues until the end of the track, leaving us feeling haunted and almost uneasy.
Next is Triclinic which opens with a healing frequency and a baseline that is playful but also feels a bit like a trippy heartbeat. The celestial guitar performance feels like a guiding like, almost like we are being resuscitated from the darkness of the previous track. Wake up, Neo? Sure. I already know that I am the universe and this wholesome energy transmutes here. The awakening that manifests with Triclinic feels cosmically aligned. A whirring guitar envelopes us with its cerebral sound and now we know that we are back in Minorarc‘s original dimension.
A Drizzle’s Vagrant II is up next and this is the shortest track on the album. It sets the tone with an emotive energy, reminiscent of how we began the record. We feel peace and the cinematic allure that Minorarc no doubt is keen to showcase with his skillset. The piece has a high emotional quotient and we feel a sense of gratitude for the repeated motifs.
Finally, we experience Blue Cold Mess. This immediately taps into a stunning Spanish guitar performance with astral piano notes and an immersive spiritual frequency. Of course, this wouldn’t be closure without a thrashing guitar crescendo and organic drums, perfectly designed to evoke the maximum emotion. There is a sense of spiritual closure here, reminding us of the core message of the album and the creator’s genius ability to evoke intentional emotion. The dynamism stands strong and we are consistently in awe of the instrumental prowess that we have been experiencing for the duration of the record. The final moments are simply a choral synth, reminding us of the deep rooted humanity that amplified the music.
Minorarc‘s, also known as multi-instrumentalist composer, Ivan Bullock, has been making a mark on Australia’s underground and experimental music scene for over two decades now. As a community arts patron he has worked at the outer limits of genre while providing a launching pad for independent musicians with the Enzyme concert series and Melbourne Fringe Festival showcases.
With Inclusions, his newest release under the Minorarc project, Bullock further explores the realm of sonic storytelling and its blurred lines, threading together the architecture of modern metal with the ethereal vitality of classical composition. This album is a culmination of his ever-rewiring vision — a vision that has, over the course of four decades, not only inspired a plethora of Australian experimental music’s finest to continue retaining the night and their craft in one, beautiful motion, it’s also inspired a generation of artists not only down under, but all over the world, to embrace the raw and the refined.
For some additional background, Ivan Bullock was born in Canberra, Australia, in 1976, and began playing piano and violin with classical training. His use of the violin was intensely personal, using an instrument made by his father from exotic African hardwood. But a neck injury at age 18 ended his performing days, and he turned to himself as a collector and a champion of experimental, industrial and electronic music. The late 1990s brought a seismic shift when he relocated to Tokyo, which forced upon him both the intensity and the isolation of the big city, and this inspired the creation of his solo project, Mystral Tide. Experimenting with digital recording, hardware synthesis and the piano, he self-released several albums that made their way into Japan’s gothic and industrial scenes.
Following Mystral Tide’s prominence through albums such as Whirlpool of Souls that resulted in performances in Japan and Europe including Wave Gotik Treffen, Bullock extended his collaborations. He collaborated with Zeitgeist Records and also co-founded the EBM duo Trucido. He returned to Australia in 2003 and became a fixture of Melbourne’s underground electronic scene. He established DEMUS (Dark Electronic Music Underground Society) and Darkstereo, promoting a space for underground artists via dj gigs and compilations. The Enzyme series (2005-2015) featured a variety of experimental, industrial and electronic artists and culminated with events such as Enzyme Tower at the Melbourne Fringe Festival.
Following on from Mystral Tide, Bullock formed Minorarc in 2010, bringing metal influences and more intense conceptual ideas into the fold. In 2022, he released a concept album, Untold, that he funded through Kickstarter, exploring drowning and loss through a mixture of classical, modern metal and ambient electronics. Then came Overburden, and Inclusions, both of which were lauded by international music outlets. In addition to his recording projects, he revived Darkstereo in 2021, recommitting to an advocacy for independent dark and subversive music. Inclusions (2023) serves as Minorarc’s most recent release, and cements his growing status, gaining traction across the progressive and experimental music scenes.