ALBUM OF THE WEEK

Orcustus 's/t' LP 2009, Southern Lord Recordings

There is something very gratifying about enduring a mammoth record without interruption, the sounds blow your dust all over the map and shit. And if you have never sat down with a Black Metal album, now would be a good time to do that. The idea of doing so is worthwhile all in itself but actually doing it is way better because this- negativity is a large part of the world you live in, and attempts to ignore this truth is a delusion. If you are drawn to things that involve unhappiness and passive aggressive tendencies then alas, you should be listening to this stuff. We all like to listen to records but not a lot of those records make you feel that different after you listen to them. Now we know from previous record reviews on here that Black Metal is saturated with idiot nerds that have dressed it up as a sensational permanent halloween fantasy or some dumb shit, which they have. But through this sillyness, which is present in some form or another just about everywhere, the potential of Black Metal as something wicked remains underneath. And Orcustus shrieks and snarls all over this motherfucker. This is not weak dumb shit. This is raging Norwegian Black Metal done with essence and it smashes. Orcustus is two main guys, Dirge Rep and Taipan, but there are collaborators on the album, including Infernus and Tormentor from Gorgoroth. In a rare and most excellent interview with Orcustus that appeared in an issue of Nordic Vision magazine that my friend got in Norway (thanks again Aly), the members stated that this record took five years to create. Very eloquent, they state "The energy and mean nature you experience listening to the alum obviously comes from/through us and has manitfested itself in this album. For me, the whole album, the whole process of making and finishing it, and even the existence of the band itself, has turned into a malignant tumor of sorts, a concentration of so much negativity, hate, frustration and discouragement from all kinds of known and unknown sources that it has turned into an organism of pure negative power and energy that got out of control and seemed impossible to 'tame' at times. I want you as an observer in total possession by our music/lyrics- to take advantage of, be destroyed by, or feed from it." Maximum volume and grit makes the whole thing seethe and kill the whole time. Southern Lord put this out which is whatever that is, but no vinyl release as of yet I don't think, which will be rad. This is ripe with vitality, worth its weight. They are no longer a band.