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Krieg | facebook | twitter | bandcamp |
Released on November 13, 2015 via At A Loss Recordings
Not many bands find themselves in the position The Body have, and it’s certainly a notable one. With collaborative efforts of the highest quality (including The Haxan Cloak and Thou) to a back catalogue that demonstrates artistry within doom and experimental metal, the band have reached a point where they are free from any constraint in what they should do next, or who they’ll put their heads together with.
In this case, they have joined they’re terrifying force with American black metal legend Krieg, with Neill Jameson’s undeniable wretches and screams having the strongest presence. The premise of two artists of such a dark nature creating a joint beast was truly of great anticipation in this year running of black metal, doom and experimental music. What these two creative powerhouses have done here really surpassed the expectation.
From the first track and the first track released prior, the album’s tone is set. ‘Bottom of the Bottle, Bottom of the River’ demonstrates to a shattering and abrasive level the clash of metal and dark, pulsating electronic drones. A beat carries the track as waves of noise burst through the throat-shredding screams of Neill Jameson. This alternates with the signature wails of Chip King, which with every brilliant waking nightmare that The Body creates, seem to become more unsettling.
Met with an electronic beat, simple yet effective, before the horrifying distorted rhythm materialises in a hallucinatory mix with Jameson’s pained vocals and The Haxan Cloak influenced bells. The track wears down to nothing but a drone and Jameson clawing for breath, before the most pummelling passage of straight doom metal I’ve heard all year, an avalanche set to obliterate.
I find it hard to find the weak point with this project, maybe it’s due to the almost constant impenetrable walls of noise that give the record its overall aesthetic, or if it’s actually because the album is unbelievable. Each track leads a journey of pure dismay, with tracks like ‘Fracture’ resembling the sensation of claustrophobia within its walls of noise. ‘Gallows’ is another significant piece, this resembling pure panic as if being pursued and the dark that shrouds is impervious as the industrially tinged percussion hammers indefinitely.
Each track is unique, yet they all tie up to the overall cohesion of this record, let alone the unforgettable impact.
This release is yet another milestone for The Body, and it displays Krieg and Jameson in their most familiar environment, yet shows one of the best vocal performances in the project’s discography. This project will no doubt be a hard, cold example of quality metal in 2015.
Metal has long needed a band like The Body, who takes aspects of a genre so well practiced and warps and twists it into they’re very own abhorrent monster that is oh so satisfying to try and conceive.
