Land of the Relentless Thud

KEIJI HAINO - Tenshi No Gijinka

What could be more logical than an artist renowned for his avant-guitar histrionics than to release an album comprised entirely of free-form percussion and wordless chants? OK, I may be wrong about that-- mebbe his intonations are in Swahili or even Zeuhl for that matter; which is about to the extent that I can decipher a single syllable. Then again, I've always likened Keiji Haino's music to a aural version of William S. Burroughs' "Naked Lunch"-- yunno how you can begin reading it from back to front, from the middle forward or backwards and it still makes an odd kind of sense? Well, ya can do that with Haino's work as well, and it too makes sense-- albeit not in the humdrum linear fashion the human brain normally processes (I have no idea what I meant either).

Feel free to throw alla yer Goblin and Jacula albums-- with the dark, ritualistic atmosphere conjured here, you won't need music that was actually designed to sound ghoulish... Haino accomplishes that without lifting a blackened fingernail. If you subscribe to primitive concepts like the X-ian version of "good" and "evil," this opus falls on the latter side of the spectrum. That's not to say there isn't an arcane beauty to "Tenshi," simply that it'll take several listens for it to fully envelop yer already unbalanced and tortured psyche. Strangest of all is the fact that Keiji's upper-register vocal wailings sound almost exactly like King Diamond (wonder if he ever dons kabuki make-up?)-- no foolin'! I'm sure it makes an odd kinda sense in his mind.

Look in comments.


METALUCIFER - Heavy Metal Drill

I know, I know: here he goes again with that metal bullshit. Well... too goddamn bad-- I happen to love the stuff, and since this is my blog, here's some more for the few of y'all that throw the horns on a regular basis. Metalucifer are an offshoot of Sabbat-- the Hellhammer/Sodom worshippin' black-thrashers from Kuwana, Japan. Much like the j-pcore we regularly celebrate here at SLN, Nippon metal is often twisted into nigh unrecognizable mutant strains notable for larynx-shreddin' vox, chaotic tempos and layers of penetrating noise taken to extremes their forebears never envisioned. Metalucifer ain't one of 'em, though: they be rooted firmly in the Manowar/Judas Priest/Maiden school. The lyrics enshrine the genre itself-- in fact, the first three tracks feature the hallowed words, "heavy metal" in their titles. I'm sure lotsa ya consider that cheesy or dated; me, I love it-- I'm always pleased to find a band that are dedicated to keeping the faith (CRUSH THE POSERS!!). Most importantly (as always), the riffs are fantastic and the guitar harmonies? Well, let's just say that I haven't heard such immaculate, melodic shredding since the Thin Lizzy Robertson/Gorham tag-team's antics on "Live & Dangerous."

Hey! All five of you headbangers: Look in comments!