Apokalyptik AIDS

Despite what you are thinking "Planet AIDS" is not a joke grindcore band. I am fairly certain that the title of this EP is meant to be a humorous jab at hell hammer's "Apocalyptic Raids" EP yet their isn't a shred of humor to be found on this obscure one song discography. There is nothing pleasant on this release, nothing catchy, nothing technical, nothing even resembling what most people would consider music. I hesitate to call this music "metal," the guitars are processed to the point of sounding like harsh synth pads, the drum machine is used as a deliberate aesthetic and there is no musical segment that can truly be described as a "riff." If you forced me to place this into a categorical genre it would have to be "funeral doom influenced industrial." It is clear that this band was influenced by "Wormphlegm's" legendary demo but rather than relying on overtly organic tones to create a "rotting soundscape." "Planet AIDS" created a soundtrack to the decimation of all things organic with possibly one of the most stylistically inhuman sounding albums ever recorded.

This band makes "Portal" look like "Ke$ha" and "Sunn O)))" look like "Katy Perry." This is the most emotionally disturbing music I have ever listened too. Even if I listen to this album in the background while doing something else that absorbs my attention, it effects my mood in a way no other musical release ever has. Many other bands that attempt to make emotionally disturbing music do so because they aren't talented enough to record music that actually sounds like music so they hide behind "art" and hipsters eat it up like organic vegan candy. This band doesn't use a drum machine because they can't find a real drummer, this band doesn't use harsh vocals because they couldn't find a real singer, this band doesn't sound dissonant because they are incapable of writing melodies. All of the aforementioned are not only deliberate and required for aesthetic purposes, they are integral to the composition itself.

Lyrically this is simply a bunch of quotes from the bible, exclusively passages in the book of Revelation dealing with the apocalypse. These passages are a perfect accompaniment for this music. It is my opinion that on this release you cannot separate the music from the lyrics. It is easy to say that the band just chose a bunch of bible quotes because they sounded "gr1m" and they were too lazy to actually write lyrics about the Apocalypse but I don't believe that is the case. There are literally tens of thousands of metal songs written about the world ending from a biblical prospective but I have yet to hear one that approaches it from this angle. You have to imagine these lyrics as they are actually written; from the first person prospective of the apostle John. In almost every other metal song, the prophetic words of revelation are presented as if happening in the present context; whist "Planet Aids" makes me feel like I am the forlorn apostle watching the horrific events being displayed before my eyes.

Imagine you are the apostle, imagine that you are trapped on the island of Patmos because you have been spreading the word of your beliefs amongst the roman empire. Despite the fact that you are surrounded by people such as guards and other prisoners you still feel totally alone. Imprisoned for your faith you are surrounded by people that think you're insane often times you question your own sanity, until during a time of prayer you receive an answer from the God that seemed to have deserted you. After several years you finally see your old teacher, Jesus, but he is no longer the meek rabbi who taught you to "Turn the Other Cheek." He is now the supreme overlord of a sinful word that he must bring under his submission when the time is right. He reviles his will to you in hopes that you will spread the word to the Seven Churches of this impending immolation of humanity. As you watch your master unleash hideous abominations upon the earth you feel a mix of emotions: You lament for many of your fellow humans, at the same time you scorn them for their unrepentant hearts, you feel revulsion, you feel hate, you feel avenged because many people persecuted you because of your faith yet you cant help but feel anguish for all of these ignorant people. "Planet Aids" musically captures all of these thoughts flawlessly in their music, it is not pleasant, it is very uncomfortable to say the least. You feel like a forlorn prophet screaming in anguish watching the world burn and being helpless to stop the disaster with no one to heed your warnings of perdition.

Seeing the lyrics from this prospective helps the listener perceive the musical goals in a new light. The music is very monotonous but it still has a steady progression. As I mentioned earlier the percussion is a drum machine that sounds totally inorganic, incorporates odd sounds and gradually speeds up throughout the song. Eventually the mechanical drum pattern reaches an incredibly fast climax and collapses in on itself back into the same slow monotony at the beginning, crushing the listener into a true state of hopeless contrition. Despite the repetitive nature of this music there is still a strong sense of progression. Layers are added and removed, atonal passages gradually shift into totally different patterns and yet you still feel trapped in the same dungeon, unable to escape.

This album is not for the casual listener, it is truly disturbing, emotionally charging and totally removed from the remotest semblance of accessibility. I recommend this to anyone who has a strong appreciation for the torturous stylings in the dank suffocating underground of doom metal. Not for the faint of heart.

Abandon hope all ye who enter.

originally written for: http://abloodredpath.blogspot.com/

Now, I cannot stress this enough, some music is just not for everyone. Sure, there are some artists that strive to be different, try to be wacky. Yet they still somehow garner critical acclaim from many major "mainstream" sources and are frequently mentioned online by "kvlt" and "underground" people. I dare you to find Metal Hammer, Terrorizer, Decibel, any of those big names sit down and interview Planet AIDS. A band of their type defies categorization as Metal, upon hearing this EP. I don't know how they made it on here, and I'm not a religious man, (Though I did attend a service today, guilted) but by God, this is some fucked up shit.

You may or may not have seen a review I had written for a Gnaw Their Tongues demo, which has the best title of all time (Spasming And Howling, Bladders Emptying, Bowels Loosening, Vomiting Helplessly {Yes I committed that to memory, it's that epic}). This is quite in the vein of GTT, but just slightly more fucked up. If you have heard anything by 'Tongues, you will know, this is not to be messed with if you're fragile minded. It could break you.

It's only one track, 28 minutes in length, with little to no metal detected. A strange drum loop dominates the first half, with the vocalist who will not be named (As will the other band members) keeps a persistent howl throughout, which is eventually layered with growls, shrieks, and more howls, which give it quite a creepy atmosphere. As mentioned before, there is a very sparse instrumental presence. It makes you question whether some of the sounds heard are guitars, synths, real drums, etc. Every thing's distorted and stretched so thin that it's barely music anymore. A haunting atmosphere that brings to my mind a bleak, grey, bombed out landscape with people writhing in agony all around, providing the vocals for this symphony of utter woe and despair.

Very few people would have the patience nor stomach for this funeral/doom/industrial/ambient in even a small dose. There is little to no progression, and when there is, it makes your heart sink because your mind was becoming accustomed to the monotony. If this is what they wanted, the desired effect was a success. The lyrics are verses from the Bible, concerning the Apocalypse and Death and such. Certainly not a happy affair. It is a free download, or you can order it if you'd like to see what that booklet with a weird modified picture of a crowned Jesus is about.

I would recommend this for fans of Gnaw Their Tongues, Bunkur, Sunn 0))), or any of that other crazy minimalistic "metal" that would draw you to find this. Me? I found it on a review site and clicked it because the name made me giggle. This in itself is no laughing matter. This is the soundtrack to genocide, pestilence, anything that causes mass amounts of suffering.

I'm sure these guys set out with the intent to create something completely inaccessible and they've succeeded. Albeit this doesn't match in length the various hour long releases from Bunkur but what they're missing in length the make up for in pins and needles music. Actually this EP lasts like a hail of razors.

At 24 minutes most of us trained doom fans will likely scoff at the idea that this could be a difficult listen. After all, do we not listen to Dopesmoker at least once a week? We've heard the Bunkur releases. Sunn O))) is easy listening so far as we're concerned. We're calloused enough to stand up to what any band can throw at us. And still we'd be ill equipped for what Planet AIDS deliver.

They're an unlike anything we've heard before. They're staticy, minimally produced, worshipping everything from Sunn O))) to Burzum to the static that comes over the radio during a thunderstorm. They screech, they scream, they're certainly playing something on some form of instrument, but, damned if you'll pick up on it at first. From somewhere beneath layers of chaos a song emerges, rather like Khanate, no Sunn O))), no wait, there's something industrial about it. It's... it's something that you can't quite put your finger on. It's not music that captivates you with crushing riffs- a la typical doom- or something that intrigues you with its minimalism like drone and some black metal. There's a deepness to it, there are certainly many layers to this music, yet it comes off so minimally, so effortlessly.

Some may listen to this and hear nothing. It's like reading a postmodern novel, like House of Leaves by Mark Z Danielewski. "This is insanity" some might say, "This is maddness" (This is SPAR... no I can't do that). "This is shit" others might say. It certainly is hard to appreciate. It's not something you'll find yourself listening to daily or something that you'll ever get the urge to listen to. But once in a while a doom fan might stumble upon it cycling through his collection or down the artists list on his MP3 player. He might decide to give it another listen and if he's of proper doom stalk he might become entranced by the thick sonic scape Planet AIDS have created. Or he might turn it off after three minutes and take some aspirin. Either response is a correct one.