Muukalainen puhuu

What does it feel like to be adrift in space? The stars far and distant, your co-workers in the pod looking on as you cling to one small cord, and the rest of your civilization watching from below. It’s a pretty daunting feeling and very few people have felt such a gut-wrenching, ulcer sparking nightmare. It may be peaceful when watching it, but I hardly doubt it’s anything to be comfortable about; consider everything that’s going on while you float in such a void of nothingness between shards of rock in an expanse of emptiness: no one can hear you, you can hardly breath, everyone who put you up there is counting on you, and one slip-up or malfunction will cause a slow, agonizing death.

Pretty scary stuff, and as I sit here in my room listening to this album, those are the thoughts that pop into my head… well, that and the camera transition as if it was a dream sequence or a flashback. Right now I’m listening to the second track – actually, it just shot out; I feel as though I have no control over the events unfolding – I’ve just opened Pandora’s Box, and apparently it was black metal all along (no wonder those idiots in the past never had a chance). If I were to take a hit and kick back on my bed, then I’d expect an eel to show up at my door selling cupcakes. This represents the wishy-washy-wooshy patterns of the guitars, surging through the atmosphere with their clean aura of power. It’s spiritually enticing, throwing colors passed your head at the speed of bullets firing from the barrels of rifles; even if they hit you, it’ll just sparkle with horrible N64-like textures. Their spacey, psychedelic rhythms are meant to trip me out like crazy, but I’m no lightweight.

I’d rank the hash factor between Ice Cube’s The Predator and Snoop’s Doggystyle, but with it comes the chilling blankness of space. Those albums were down to earth, but this one has you smoking and taking a rocket to Neptune. The first few tracks have you feeling mind-blown with crazy interludes and murky imaginations, but the latter half completely let’s you loose in the far regions of our solar system – alone, haunting, and with no hope of returning. It’s the part I enjoy the most since the atmosphere is incredibly hefty, with the black metal characteristics working very well over the first half. It certainly doesn’t sound very orthodox from the get-go; the band utilizes many sound effects exasperated to try and break you down psychologically.

To an extent, this is a sort of half-breed of post-rock and black metal in a serious blender. The riffs themselves aren’t the real kicker, as they’re primitive in ethics and only do as much as supporting the tempo. The bludgeoning bass lurks in the background like the cocaine that wants to jump in on the fun. Most of the time it’s very groovy, prodding like a cool cat rocking it’s head from side to side behind a lava lamp. It’s a hazy treat to hear the bubbling break in “Korppi,” which blazes you stupid like raw eggs. The riffs themselves aren’t all too powerful, but they’re chaotic and frantic as anything else this genre can play for you.

Come up with an aural blast from the past that competes with these vocals and I’ll drink mango juice until I drop. The only thing that’s straight up black metal is these vocals: vicious, tormented, foul, and clear through the pretty lucid production job (reminds me of Kawashima from Sigh). It isn’t outright polished, but there’s not much of a difference between a drug-induced jazz session and this stuff. You guy ever seen that movie Godzilla Vs. Hedorah / Space Monster? Just picture that with some very harsh, psychedelic post-rock and you pretty much nailed the sound and aesthetics of the band.

The soundscapes employed make you grow more and more paranoid by the minute. The drums are trembling in the background, waiting for me to slip up so they can catch my fall, make me think they’re on my side, and then steal my wallet. They’re so otherworldly: crystalline cymbals, asteroid drum bass, and bitchin’ toms – there are no moments were there’s an onslaught of blast beasts or anything that any hint of black metal would persuade you is coming up next. Just… just hear this one out, guys. It’s so different and odd that you’ll fall in love with it by the very first track. Don’t take it with a pinch of coke – go for weed and then it’ll be ten times better. Some sugary cereal helps if you have some lying around (I had Fruity Pebbles, so you know I was good).