Monday, September 10, 2012

Mares of Thrace - "The Pilgrimage" (2012) [Sonic Unyon Metal]




Alright.
I've got a very confused stance on this band.

On one hand, the lyrics and themes confuse me.
I know most lyricism in the sludge/grind/punk/whatever else scenes tend to be as occasionally cryptic as they occasionally bold.
But here's my dilemma: the song titles speak fluently of a story in the Old Testament of the Bible in which King David sees a beautiful woman bathing from a rooftop, so he ends up sending her husband to the front lines of a war to his death and ends up with the woman, named Bathsheba. His advisor soon comes and tells him a tale  about a jerk who takes away people's happiness and does terrible and similar things, and David realizes that he is pretty much being the embodiment of said jerk.

Now, I understand how that would be an excellent lyrical theme - the humility and humanity of a supposed leader of God's chosen people/nation.
...But the actual lyrics, which read more like a poet's letter to an ex-wife or something, seem to only breach the concepts of this story like the tip of an iceberg, leaving the rest of this iceberg of a concept to be hidden beneath figurative murky waters.
Whew.
Now that I have that off my chest:

This album is musically monstrous.

I mean, what's not to love? Two of the most gorgeous women in the music underground which I have ever seen playing a discordant, throat-tripping, high-gain amplified beast of an album.
With each sludgey groove, impenetrable atmosphere, and consistent complementary instrumentation, this band has every bit of potential to give their contemporaries a run for their money.
This album is massively appealing to a number of circles, was produced by Sanford Parker (who apparently had the daunting task of performing on this album with, and I quote, "moogerfoogers and filing cabinets".
Ergo, this disc, if anything else, has supplied me with my new favorite derogatory vulgarity.
So I suggest you listen to this beast of an album, all you crazy moogerfoogers.

...I still don't get the lyrics, though.


- Elan

No comments:

Post a Comment

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...