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Released on March 18, 2016 via Thrill Jockey Records
The Body, at this point, need no introduction. The duo has had their name alongside a plethora of artists in the world of underground metal and experimental music, and their output of consistent and challenging material is unmatched in their craft. Anything from 2014’s I Shall Die Here with The Haxan Cloak or this year’s upcoming collaboration with Full of Hell should provide apt and high quality evidence of this consistent destruction of musical boundaries.
So, as anyone enamoured with the band may be thirsting for, The Body has offered No One Deserves Happiness, a collection of tracks that once again sees the band opening another door to reveal more of an insight into the twisted and unpredictable musical world they forge. Throughout this project is the bands signature sludgey riff work and harsh waves of noise that causes the skin to crawl in a way only The Body can trigger, whilst the programmed percussion and electronic palpitations harken back to the project with Krieg, becoming far more important in the sonic make up of their sound.
However, this is an entirely different beast, a hauntingly enveloping experience that will hit you equally with heaviness as it will provide a foot slamming beat. This is The Body’s soundtrack to the dance of the dead, and it does not let up in it’s purely bizarre nature.
The processional ‘Wanderings’ sets the scene for what will be an intoxicating barrage of music. The track marches ominously until reaching an Earth shattering blitz of doom metal guitars, accompanied by vocal contributions from Chrissy Wolpert, who haunts the track with her repeated vocal melody like the call of a constrained phantom. This slides seamlessly into the leading track from the record, ‘Shelter Is Illusory’, which gives a full display of the mutated 80’s pop influence that seeps into the percussion on this album; the drums are almost danceable, something I never thought I’d say about a The Body record. Humanbeast’s Maralie Armstrong gives a belting vocal performance on this track that never feels out of place. That is a factor that truly emphasizes the greatness of this record, how all aspects no matter how unorthodox for the band all sound in place and each wave of noise or vocal melody is needed in order to make this what it is.
‘Hallow / Hollow’ is another devastatingly mournful track where the drum work pounds and allows the guitars and electronics to completely drown you. Chip King’s undeniable howls and screams accentuate the sheer terror in the atmosphere the music creates. Leading straight from this is the bouncy synthesizers in ‘Two Snakes’ another eye opening moment adding to the strange turns the record takes. The dense and uneasy atmosphere this provokes continues to layer the instrumentation and provide a true emotive response from the listener that identifies both its warped beauty and horrifying assault to the senses.
No One Deserves Happiness is simply a metal record like no other, a fact I feel is solidified in its final moments. The final two tracks, ‘Prescience’ and ‘The Myth Arc’ are the most anguished and sorrowful The Body have ever sounded. The first is trudging journey of melancholy thanks to the aid of the shredded, reverbed chord progression and hymnal backing vocals. It sounds like the funeral of Earth itself, apocalyptic and suffocating in its mournful essence. This feeling is maintained if not emphasized during ‘The Myth Arc’, a track that is quite possibly the most stunning recording The Body have their name on. Wolpert’s vocals ache over the ripples of harsh noise, in the distance King’s screams can be heard as if trying to claw through the layers of thick turbulence. All the while the guitars provide crushing drones as it begins to disperse and fade to black.
This album is an opus in modern metal and an example of a band at a never ending peak. Everything from the entwined, breath-taking vocal performances, the introduction of ceremonious horns and off kilter pop-inspired beats all mesh to form a devastating and heartfelt creation. Where ever The Body decides to venture sonically in the future, I feel a majority of those who hold their music to a high regard will look back on No One Deserves Happiness as a defining moment.
