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Melvins and Lustmord collectively create a glacial hell
Posted September 7, 2004
ARTIST: Melvins + Lustmord
ALBUM: Pigs of the Roman Empire (Ipecac Recordings)
Two decades ago was a time when guys dressed like girls and we were all just gaga over the second British Invasion, like, fer sure. Meanwhile, the seeds of important underground movements that would just as soon devour pop music were being planted right underneath our dancing feet. Twenty years later, a couple pioneers of said traditions have joined deviant minds to create Pigs of the Roman Empire.
The Melvins were a cornerstone influence on the template of post-'70s stoner metal and, incidentally, a little genre called grunge. Lustmord (a.k.a. Brian Williams) made his early mark on history with his work with proto-industrial legends Throbbing Gristle and SPK and later with his sound design for film scores by Graeme Revell (Streetfighter, The Craft), also a former contributor to SPK. Sounds like an interesting pairing of progressive cult monoliths doesn't it? Well, it is.
The resultant project is a displacing journey into evil that is as much sludge as it is ice. Throughout the course of this otherworldly record, the Melvins' progressive metal is reined by the production of Lustmord's sinister minimalism. Though each respective artist exchanges emergence from track to track, the overall affair is a palpably dark tundra that holds a remarkable complexity that is so intricately subtle that it comes off as more felt than heard. This is not to say that this record doesn't rock, because it sure as hell does. It's just that there's a whole lot more going on here. And that's what places Pigs of the Roman Empire on a more exalted plane of art.
The capital example of the trajectory of this aesthetic pendulum is the title track. Over the sprawling span of 22 minutes, this epic song drifts between alternating segments of bleak arctic atmospherics to chugging caveman riffs to foreboding trip-hop breaks. The Melvins' rock abrasiveness leads the march in the growling anger of "The Bloated Pope," the Amphetamine Reptile chaos of "Pink Bat" and the teutonic industrial metal of "Safety Third." Whereas Lustmord's funereal cinematic sweep guides tracks like the horror film soundtrack of "III", the darkly fractured ambience of "ZZZZ Best" and the menacing warble of "Idolatrous Apostate".
With Lustmord at the production helm, Pigs of the Roman Empire is bound to challenge and perhaps confound many casual Melvins' fans who are expecting their unhinged sloppiness. But in this particular case, to get past the conservative practice of pigeonholing is to be in a state of respect for their ability after such a long career to experiment to such impacting effect. Besides, more serious fans know better than to expect anything normal from the Melvins.
This album is a thoroughly impressive project that ought to serve as a lesson in artistic vision to modern contemporaries in the metal, industrial and ambient genres. Melvins will be performing at The Social on September 24th.
- Bao Le-Huu, Orlando CityBeat Writer
