Shunk Daddy Grind

I remember when I first heard avant-garde metal. There was this strange alien feel to it, that was scary at first, but it beckoned me to listen again and again. I got used to it since then and I'm no longer that impressed by a metal band incorporating a saxophone in their music. Very few artists managed to recreate that alien feeling that I began to miss. Well, I might have found something that brings those feelings back.

Let's start with the very confusing first impression the artist brings. The title makes it sound like a parody grindcore project, while the album cover wouldn't look out of place on an old-school heavy metal release, or a tech-death epic. Even the first song starts out sounding like industrial fused doom metal. That is until the tribal drums kick in, the groove metal riffs appear, the bass gets slapped and the guy starts rapping. Yes, at this point it sounds like nu metal made in somebody's bedroom. Pretty good nu metal mind you, but I imagine metalheads who aren't as open to the genre to put it down immediately and ask for a refund. Then the second song begins with a sitar, a melodic flute, a deep-voiced narration, some default text-to-speech voice and proceeds to blow my mind.

The album moves between those two extremes: The cheap sounding industrial/nu metal and the bizarre avant-garde soundscapes. There is also a fascination with exotic sounds here, with many of the songs using tribal or middle-eastern percussion, along with an overall pseudo-Egyptian "Sahara desert" vibe.

And speaking of confusing first impression, I thought this album was a concept album, that tells a story, although I'm still not entirely sure it isn't. There are certain songs that do seem to tell a story, even having their narratives split into separate tracks. Even characters, with the deep-voiced Bunechu Shenobi and proper nouns and the text-to-speech aliens, who deceived him. But then it is intercepted with songs about humanity's destruction of the Earth and itself, along with some comedic sci-fi scenes, a lot of which are also have their narratives divided into multiple songs. Maybe it's all a metaphor? And who are the people on the album cover?

Here's a better question: Who are the people involved in the project? Steve Zakas is self-explanatory; he's the musician whose solo project this is. Yeah, not a big name in the metal scene (and died in 2018 according to his website), but not everything has to be Dan Swanö's side-project. But most other musicians featured on the album have nothing else to their name. Shame because I was really looking forward to hearing more of that deep-voiced gentleman.

Musically speaking, the rotating line-up will either make or break this album for you. The songs are an amalgam of many different sounds from industrial, nu metal, shred, doom, tribal, world music, jazz, symphonic, ambient, field recordings, spoken word. This album is full of curveballs and unique ideas and doesn't even attempt at having a cohesive soundscape, unless you count the weird vibes. The only unifying quality is that the guitar tone is kinda shit.

At this point it might sound like I'm bashing the album, but I'm truly not. All the things I list are good qualities in my eyes, if result in a lot of confusion. Of course, it's not without its flaws. As mentioned, the guitar tone is complete arse, which does ruin some sections, the more crushing bits in particular. Vocal distortion is also used in some bits, but not mixed properly, so it's just unpleasant to listen to. I'm also not too keen on spoken word in music; though some songs do make a great use for it.

The album also falls into the mistake that many-many avant-garde artists fall into, which is confusing annoying soundscapes with innovation. Granted, most of the album does this right, but there are places where it just gets all aimless and irritating. Lots of good ideas are present, but not all songs use them to their full extent, resulting in only half-good songs. Some songs aren't even songs, but random sounds and bits of dialogue sown together, which is partly what made me think this was a concept album. And that's basically what the album descends into by the end; the last few songs are just pure garbage.

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Overall, it's a rewarding listen full of great ideas and truly alien soundscapes, with something new to find everytime you go back. Unfortunately, the second half of the album is just nonsense and really drags down the rest of it. The production is another thing that drags on it. It's not too bad, but when it gets into the nu metal sections, it falls apart a bit, along with the heavier riffs. The unique songwriting and alien atmosphere is where this album truly shines.

And because there are so many songs, here are some of the highlights: Bunechu Shenobi, some pure avant-garde metal weirdness. Tranq. Dart, nu metal at its best (but still could use better mixing). No Right Turn, which keeps switching between ambient with strange percussion and... chiptune metal... with a middle-eastern vibe. Behind the Veil, something that wouldn't sound too out of place on a Björk release. Jewel of Shalizar, middle-eastern psychedelic jazz. Tremble Tremor, heavy groove metal with soft female singing, sometimes broken up by bible passages. Cro-Magnum, industrial sludge metal with a very weird soundscape.