Lines In Wax

TWELVE YEARS OF UNWANTED OPINION

Day: April 26, 2023

Muse – Origin Of Symmetry (2001)
rock

Muse – Origin Of Symmetry (2001)

Ah, Muse, Muse, Muse. Blimey. How hard can a band fall off? Why, just ask Muse. Origin Of Symmetry is a stunning sophomore effort from a promising band who, on their debut, showed a side to them which had a lot of promise, but perhaps conformed to dare I say somewhat regular songwriting for the time. Many have pointed out the similarities to Radiohead, and I don’t take much stock in this, because I love Muse but fucking hate Radiohead (lol). Origin Of Symmetry is a document of a band perfecting their sound whilst still fairly early in their career, and riding that wave then into full-on commercial success. There’s no doubt that most of the success is reliant on the multi-instrumentalist and vocalist of the band, Matt Bellamy, with his bizarre solos, effects, transitions and of course those instantly recognisable vocals and lyrics. This is not to detract from Dom and Chris, but it is clear who the star of the show is here. Origin Of Symmetry is one of those rare albums where every song is a banger (I can take or leave the cover of “Feeling Good” but I associate it so much with this era that taking it out feels just as weird as leaving it in). The first half of this thing gives us huge, sing-a-long anthems and the second half treads into darker, sometimes heavier and sometimes more twisted territory. Closing track “Megalomania” is an absolute treat in pomp and bombast, with enormous keyboards and cryptic lyrics howled at the top of Matt’s range. Insanity, in the best possible way. Honestly, I love this thing. I haven’t heard it for years so I’m gonna go put it on now.

Anal Cunt – Morbid Florist (1993)
grindcore

Anal Cunt – Morbid Florist (1993)

For me, Morbid Florist is THE classic Anal Cunt EP. 88 Song EP? Great, but very raw. 5643 Song EP? Too much going on – a novelty. For the truest and best quality collection of old school Anal Cunt blurs and noisecore blasts, look no further than Morbid Florist. I think I would probably be thinking too much into it if I deeply analyzed each and every one of these songs, but here is a good mix of silly, comedic songs, noisecore blur “songs” and somewhat more structured, long-form songs with actual riffs. The band would greatly expand on this style on their debut album, but IMO Morbid Florist has the better production. Oh, and Seth’s vocals are just absolutely insane.

Goatmoon – Finnish Steel Storm (2007)
black metal

Goatmoon – Finnish Steel Storm (2007)

FInnish Steel Storm is very raw, distorted black metal with that typical Finnish melody cutting right through it. I’m not on board with any of the fucking shit these guys are writing songs about (you can stick your bigotry up your skinny arse), but I am inherently interested in bands that are “hiding behind the NSBM curtain” as I like to say. I am here to taste the forbidden fruit, you might say. So far, I’d say Goatmoon are pretty good, to be honest. There’s a few more elements mixed in here that were not present on the debut, such as a folkier edge and a – dare I say – catchier feel to the songs.

Darkthrone – Plaguewielder (2001)
black metal

Darkthrone – Plaguewielder (2001)

Not a bazillion miles away from Ravishing Grimness that preceded it, Plaguewielder is an absolute riff machine. We’re down to 6 tracks on this album, but the songs are pretty long, clocking in at 42 minutes in total. Everything I said about Ravishing Grimness kinda stands for this one, to be honest. The production is clean but works very well with the sound that the band are going for, and whilst it does almost feel like the band is on autopilot here, there are still some excellent riffs and moments that are well worth your time.

Candlemass – Epicus Doomicus Metallicus (1986)
doom metal

Candlemass – Epicus Doomicus Metallicus (1986)

Epicus Doomicus Metallicus is beyond legendary, especially for a band that has spanned many decades (and many vocalists), but has also stayed fairly true to their core doom metal roots. And that core element is exactly what is on display here in this debut, in its truest and rawest form. That last sentence sounds like maybe I am talking about a black metal band, but what I mean to say is, is that later iterations of Candlemass come with varying degrees of cheese and pomp (in particular the Messiah era lol), but Epicus Doomicus Metallus is exactly what it says it is. It is the Ronseal of epic doom metal. The production is, perhaps expectedly, a lovely warm analogue sound, where the compositions really breathe. The highlight of the songs for me is, as with all Candlemass (and most doom metal actually), the riffs, which are beyond magical. How can something so heavy be so catchy? I was lucky to catch the guys playing this at Roadburn festival in its entirety so I think that definitely gave me a much deeper appreciation of this record. It’s also really cool that as of 2023, Candlemass have come full circle and now have their original vocalist back. Good times. TLDR: essential doom metal listening.

Bal-Sagoth – Starfire Burning Upon The Ice-Veiled Throne Of Ultima Thule (1996)
black metal

Bal-Sagoth – Starfire Burning Upon The Ice-Veiled Throne Of Ultima Thule (1996)

If this record was an instrumental then it would be so, so much better. After really enjoying their debut record, I found Starfire… to be a massive disappointment. Everything is turned up to 11, and not necessarily in a good way. Sometimes it feels like all the instruments are fighting for space in the mix. Now and then it works, but in some moments it is really clumsy and the guitars and synthesizers are just falling all over each other. This could be forgiven however, if it wasn’t for every goddamn fucking second of breathing room, there’s this ridiculous narration just slathered all over the top. It’s hard to tell what the guy is saying because of the slight pitchshifter effect, and added to the complaint in the above paragraph, then Starfire… becomes almost unlistenable in parts. So many good instrumental passages on this album are ruined by the endless narration. I mean, out of all the shit that I’ve listened to over the years, it’s funny that it’s something as pompous as Bal-Sagoth that’s made me tap out, but fuck me, these guys need to chill the fuck out. It’s too much, man.

Behexen – Rituale Satanum (2000)
black metal

Behexen – Rituale Satanum (2000)

I came into Behexen’s music via the Satanic Warmaster split, where they offer some of the best black metal you can hope to hear. Perhaps my expectations were too high then, when finally going back to the debut full length to check it out. There is, surprisingly, a fair bit of pomp here for such a raw black metal recording, with the intro ritual setting the tone nicely for the screeching horrors that follow it. Musically, the band walk a tightrope between nondiscript and almost threatening to be interesting and weird, with the high-pitched vocal attack setting them apart from others in this field. The production is a bit blurry, but serviceable for the kind of scene we’re talking about. I dunno, this is far from bad. But, after a few listens, something is still struggling to click with me. If you think this is the coolest shit ever, then I understand, but I don’t think I’d agree with you.

Impulse Noise – Stress (2018)
grindcore

Impulse Noise – Stress (2018)

On Stress, Impulse Noise play intense, frenetic grindcore with a thick and disgusting sound. Like, this shit is really firing on all cylinders. Firstly, the production is fantastic. The drumming is just absolutely insane. The bass, clanking away like some sort of mechanical nightmare, underpins everything and gives the proceedings such a genuine heaviness and weight to it. The guitar seems a bit drowned out at first, but it’s there, hammering away. Vocally, the band deliver with rabid barks and growls, like Kevin Sharp gargling salt water. This shit is great.

Darkthrone – Ravishing Grimness (1999)
black metal

Darkthrone – Ravishing Grimness (1999)

Superb but somewhat uneventful mid-career album from the black metal legends. It is, admittedly, perhaps easy to tune out if listening to Darkthrone’s records chronologically. By the time you’ve gotten through Goatlord and Total Death (neither of which are dreadful, just a bit of a drop off in quality), albums like Ravishing Grimness, Plaguewielder and Hate Them start to blur into one. But is it really fair to judge Darkthrone on “It’s Not As Good As Transilvanian Hunger Therfore It’s Not Good”? I don’t think so, because, if this were any other band, perhaps even a Nocturno Culto side project – anything that didn’t carry the Darkthrone name – then I firmly believe this would have been far better received; praised, even. The production on Ravishing Grimness is fairly clean (by Darkthrone standards) but the music does not suffer for it. The riffs have room to breathe and unfold, which is what you want for lengthy tracks like this. Honestly, there are some great moments here, including “The Claws Of Time” which I think is my favourite from this record. As others have already said, don’t write this one off.