Published on Feb 7, 2000
So I pull
The Power Cosmic, the latest disc from British
death-metallers Bal-Sagoth, out of the “to be reviewed” stack in
the Pierce Memorial Archives, and I said, “I didn’t know that L.
Ron Hubbard was writing heavy metal music.” (Why not? For a guy
who’s been dead for years, he does a good job of updating
Dianetics every friggin’ year.)
I mean, how else could one explain the song titles that seem
like they’re lifted from some third-rate science fiction novel?
Check out the jaw-fracturing title of the seventh track – “Behold,
The Armies Of War Descend Screaming From The Heavens!”
Yup, I didn’t exactly look forward to getting to this disc – and
after listening to it, my thoughts were confirmed. Bal-Sagoth tries
to cram more doom and gloom into this disc than you thought
possible… if only I could understand the lyrics.
Now, I’m not against death metal, so long as it’s written and
executed correctly. But all the songs seem to rely on the keyboards
of Johnny Maudling – so much so, in fact, that any musical
brutality that helps to make this genre interesting is washed out
by the synthesized noodling. Mistake number one.
Mistake number two: trying to cross death metal with progressive
rock. I’m not saying it can’t be done, but this attempt just isn’t
pretty. Tracks like “The Thirteen Cryptical Prophecies Of Mu” dare
to suggest that this disc could well be this generation’s
Tales From Topographic Oceans… and long-time readers know
how I feel about
that album.
Actually, all of this makes me glad that I could hardly
understand what vocalist Byron was growling about. Something tells
me that if I understood the lyrics to tracks like “The Awakening Of
The Stars,” “Of Carnage and A Gathering Of The Wolves” or “Callisto
Rising,” I’d be hammering them for latching onto the warrior ethic
too much.
So what exactly do I have against
The Power Cosmic? First, it’s far too keyboard-heavy. If you
want to convince me that this music is dark, then at least move the
keyboards to the background. (The exception to this would be the
work of Mortiis – and even there, I’d have argued that he needed a
little more than
just keyboards.) Second, the music plays out like a bad
Star Wars clone – and in the end is very unconvincing.
Third, the genre crossing, in this case, doesn’t work – and I’d tie
the lyrics into this as well.
There’s plenty of death metal worth your time, just as there’s
plenty of avant-garde music that’s worthy.
The Power Cosmic is not.