Animus - Poems For The Aching, Swords For The Infuriated

Animus - 5 (excerpt)



So I've been in this weird metal groove lately. Not just any metal, though. Black metal. A very specific type of black metal. I can be pretty picky within certain genres of music, and black metal is definitely one of them. I don't have any universal defining characteristics of the type of BM I listen to but it's generally very raw and full of buzz (see Offerblod, Flaskavsae, Xasthur). It's usually pretty oppressive and depressing, too. Sometimes it's full of rage and others it's melancholy, but it often sounds like it's being played through a pair of really shitty speakers.

This Animus album that I just got, Poems For The Aching, Swords For The Infuriated fits the bill perfectly. It's fucking relentless. This guy pummels through some long tracks (the shortest being 6 minutes, the longest at 13), and he never stops going. Almost every song is full on destruction from start to end. And man is this stuff impenetrable. The buzz envelopes you, like a security blanket with spikes. It's awesome.

After the first two tracks (there's only 6 total), everything calms down and out comes the ballad. Yeah, a black metal ballad. It's as bizarre as it is amazing. It sounds like an electric guitar and bass with shit-tons of reverb, covered in thick fuzz. No drums. Just guitars and vocals. And the vocals are what make this thing really haunting. Super raspy, like a prehistoric toad that's been smoking all his life and now has throat cancer. It kind of reminds me when Staind did that acoustic song that everyone creamed themselves over. The fans of their traditional sound were surprised when they went unplugged, but it still fit. Yeah, track 3 is missing a lot of the usual BM elements, but it still belongs on the album.

That's the only respite, however. The next 3 tracks return to the dark metal depths of despair and never come back. This is one wretched, dismal soul. And apparently quite dedicated. The only liner notes say "Animus is none and nothing but sheer artistic devotion. No words, no musical notes - emotions." If I had any paternal instincts, I'd want to give this guy a pat on the head and tell him everything would be OK. That would never happen though. I'd much rather have him keep producing this bleak metal buzz. That doesn't make me a bad person, does it?

Fuck Buttons - Street Horrrsing

Oooooooh wow. This one...this one is special. I still haven't finished listening to the whole thing but...damn. This is everything I want in a band. Buzzing synths, tribal beats, beautiful drone, in-the-red vocals, and loud as fuck. A lot of people have been saying that this record and that record are already contending for their year end Top 10 lists. That usually makes me mad this early in the year. Maybe people still have their Top 10 lists from last year still on their mind, so they're trying to stay focused and remember these early releases when December comes. But you know what? It doesn't matter. I don't even make lists, and this is still at the top of it. Yes, I'm placing Street Horrrsing at the top of my non-existent list. It's that good. I can't say anything else about this record. Except I think Fuck Buttons is a dumb name. That's the least of my worries, though. They could be called Bunny Killers and I wouldn't care (as long as it wasn't true). This is so so so easily the best record of the year. I can't imagine anything else coming out that can top this. And my imagination is pretty good.

Update: I just found out they're playing tonight at The Paradise with Caribou. I'll be leaving shortly to go see them and I shall return with what I'm sure will be an amazing review.