Search - The Melvins, Lustmord :: Pigs of the Roman Empire

Hits you in Strange Places

Disco Dan | Melbourne, Australia | 05/08/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I'm not a big fan of collaborations in general and some of Lustmord's previous collaborations have been rather disappointing. But this is fascinating stuff.



For some reason, even though I'm no stranger to alternative guitar rock at all, the Melvins have completely and utterly passed me by. I'd never heard of them before til now. I'm not sure why that is - just one of those quirks of nature I guess.



Lustmord, however, I have been following since Paradise Disowned (87) and Heresy (90) came out, and have been a big, big fan of his voluminous, cavernous soundscapes ever since. Nonetheless, not being a fan of collaborations generally, I didn't rush out to buy this album when it came out. For one thing, what research I did do on the Melvins didn't make it seem like the outcome would be that promising...



Now that I have acquired it, I find myself putting it on rotation over and over though. What's the attraction? It's actually much easier to pick the album's faults than articulate why notwithstanding I like it so very much.



The album is often unfocussed, in places (especially in the title track) downright messy, sounding more like an unhypothesized experiment, or a competition to see who can make the most noise than a well researched project. In others, such as between "III" and "The Bloated Pope" it comes across as more of a "vs." project - with no evidence of collaboration at all. The first track ("III") is obviously wholly by Lustmord and gives way to the second ("The Bloated Pope"), obviously wholly by the Melvins.



But as I keep listening, the idea of the Melvins and Lustmord seems more and more like a really good idea. Towards halfway through, Lustmord's threatening drones blend in more and more comfortably with the Melvins' guitar work.



By track 8 ("Idolatrous Apostate"), the coalescence of two distinct musical forms becomes downright...well...I didn't think music could ever sound so dark but bizarrely appealing at the same time.



There's something 'otherworldishly' and frighteningly romanesque about this penultimate track, with its menacing guitar licks and demoniacal vocal grating that disintegrates into pure satanic distortion, and it's almost like it represents the culmination of the creative effort, as if the album tracks a diachronic movement. Rather like watching "The Exorcist", it's strangely compelling.



In any case, I highly recommend this to anyone who wants something really....well, original is the perfect word here."

Another challenging Melvins release...

S. Johnson | Washington, DC United States | 08/26/2004

(3 out of 5 stars)

"when i heard 'the bloated pope' a few months ago i assumed that the whole cd would be rockin' melvins w/the requisite killer drums and guitar. it turns out that Lustmord has had a much heavier hand in the production of this album than the killer 'bloated pope' would make it appear. much of this album consists of 'ambient' noise and anyone looking for ONLY killer-rocking melvins stuff will be surprised. it's an eclectic release. it reminds me of 'honky': several killer metal tracks and lots of spooky weirdness on the other tracks. this cd would be best experienced in an altered state."

The real HAT

Heath Hanlin | North Syracuse, NY USA | 01/03/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Funny that their last record was called hostile ambient takeover, this one is a total hostile ambient takeover. I can't think of any band ever, that has this much steam after 20 years. The Melvins continue to surpass and have still never repeated themselves.



The merging of rock-like and electronica-like forms seems totally natural here; a truly great match-up. If you're looking for something you've never heard before, pick this up now."