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Maggot Mass, the fifth full-length album by Pharmakon on Sacred Bones Records, marks the

project's return after a five-year hiatus. This album signifies a departure from the original rules and

structures established by Margaret Chardiet for Pharmakon, evolving into a new form. It retains

the project's experimental roots in power electronics and noise while incorporating industrial and

punk influences.

The album stems from a profound disgust with humanity's dysfunctional relationship with the

environment and other life forms. It explores the loneliness resulting from this broken bond and

challenges us to acknowledge our personal and systemic responsibility.

What peace can we make with privilege when the true cost of our comfort is not measured in

dollars but in death? How can we reconcile with death when we impose the same hierarchical

structures on it that we do in life? Is life worth living in the isolation of this self-imposed species

loneliness?

Humans often measure worth by accumulation-money, assets, objects-mistaking this for power

and influence. Western heritage dictates a hierarchy, placing humans at the top, separate from the

natural world. This delusion turns bodies into objects, land into property, and people into expendable tools.

If our value were instead determined by our contribution to the ecosystem, who could claim that

a human is more valuable than a maggot? Maggots recycle death into life, breaking down matter

and nourishing new growth. They transform into flies, pollinating plants and sustaining the Earth's

flora. In contrast, humans pollute rather than pollinate, with a select few profiting from exploitation at the expense of biodiversity and the well-being of many.

In grappling with grief and loss on both personal and global scales, Margaret sought solace in the

idea of rebirth through death, celebrating the beauty of regeneration through decay. However, she

had to confront the stark reality of the disconnection from the earth under oppressive systems.

Pharmakon is here imagining a path where the final act is to give back what was received from

creation, offering our lives and deaths to sustain existence.