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Krieg-Transient-CD-FLAC-2014-CATARACT
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ARTIST : Krieg STOREDATE : 00-00-2014
ALBUM : Transient RIPDATE : 03-01-2015
YEAR : 2014 RUNTIME : 56:32 min
GENRE : Black Metal LANGUAGE : English
LABEL : Candlelight Records GRABBER : EAC Secure
SOURCE : CDDA ENCODER : FLAC 1.2.1
QUALITY : 971 kbps Avg 44.1kHz 2 channels SIZE : 407.8MB
URL : http://tinyurl.com/nov46ty TRACKS : 11 Files
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01 Order Of The Solitary Road 5:44
02 Circling The Drain 3:46
03 Return Fire 4:15
04 To Speak With Ghosts 4:43
05 Atlas With A Broken Arm 5:09
06 Time 5:10
07 Winter (Amebix Cover) 5:32
08 Walk With Them Unnoticed 3:58
09 Ruin Our Lives 5:34
10 Home 7:37
11 Gospel Hand 5:04
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56:32 min
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│ Neill Jameson ranks among the great defenders of and disciples for │
│ United States Black Metal. He's been making and refining his own │
│ antagonistic strain since the mid-1990s, leading Krieg through some │
│ of the most important, compelling and twisted stateside versions of │
│ the form. HeÆs run a label and become a crucial distribution point │
│ for many acts, welcomed outsiders into the dark fold, publicly │
│ defended the acquisition of Thurston Moore by his supergroup │
│ Twilight, and dismissed insider and old friend Blake Judd as an │
│ expression of the genre at its solipsistic worst. HeÆs advocated for │
│ progression in the form by endorsing the firebrands of Liturgy while │
│ maintaining that the genre must stay tough and unruly unless it │
│ wants to become as weak as water. "I have boots that are older than │
│ most of these peopleÆs interest in black metal," he once said, │
│ swiftly encapsulating his admixture of old-school aggression and │
│ excitable acceptance. ôI figure black metal is probably just a │
│ curiosity for the white-belt crowd.à IÆm not as bothered by it as │
│ some people are; itÆs just the evolution of things." │
│ │
│ Transient is Krieg's first album in four years, second since a │
│ necessary hiatus, and first featuring Jameson surrounded by a new │
│ quartet. Moreover, itÆs an hour-long expression of Jameson's │
│ defensive and defiant attitude, as it sprawls from a base of │
│ recalcitrant black metal in intriguing, unexpected directions. A │
│ uniformly desolate album, Transient is a claustrophobic listen that │
│ provides the illusion of walls closing in and ceilings coming down, │
│ even as its sound opens wider. Though the core of Krieg and these 11 │
│ songs remains primitive black metal, epitomized by mid-album melee │
│ "Atlas with a Broken Arm", the album serves as a reminder that │
│ Jameson has never been one for stasis. HeÆs shifted KriegÆs lineup │
│ between most albums, covered the Velvet Underground in a croaking │
│ acoustic guise, and massaged a broad spectrum of influences into │
│ this band. Transient leans hard into those outlier aims: Some │
│ moments shimmer with the pop-metal buoyancy that temporarily worked │
│ as NachtmystiumÆs calling card, while others burrow into slow, │
│ strong doom wallops. There are orchestrated power electronics │
│ interludes and hardcore stomp-alongs, solemn spoken-word passages │
│ and taut post-punk counter-riffs. JamesonÆs boots are ostensibly │
│ meant for hiking. │
│ │
│ But credit goes to JamesonÆs irascible voiceùhere, the best itÆs │
│ ever beenùfor threading together these disparate musical thoughts │
│ and giving the record its overriding sense of desperation. No matter │
│ the particular songÆs style or structure, he plays the part of the │
│ reprobate. He bellows like a bully during the hardcore half of │
│ "Return Fire" and screams in agony when it downshifts in the back, a │
│ madman melting in his own sweat. Krieg recorded Transient at the │
│ Rhode Island studio Machines with Magnets, a room perhaps best known │
│ for its work with The Body. You can hear that duo's echoes during │
│ the brilliant cover of AmebixÆs ôWinterö, which pivots from brief │
│ black metal builds into bottomless doom tirades. Above a rhythm │
│ section that suggests orchestrated artillery fire, Jameson lashes │
│ out as though he's being interred by the force of his own band. In │
│ fact, he delivers much of Transient as though he's singing beneath │
│ the outfit, fighting to be heard among the din of guitars and drums. │
│ That choice makes Transient both bleak and beguiling; Jameson sounds │
│ trapped, but you want to lean in close, dangerously so, to hear what │
│ he has to yell. Even during "Walk With Them Unnoticed," that │
│ particularly upbeat and racing number, his hoarse tone comes tucked │
│ just beneath the lip of the lead, making even the albumÆs most │
│ breathless and accessible bit feel hazardous. │
│ │
│ Though Jameson emerged as a one-man black metal band, first under │
│ the name Imperial and later as Krieg, he's a rich collaborator, too. │
│ His roster of past alliances and collaborations is the length of a │
│ few paragraphs, and heÆs one of only two people to appear on every │
│ Twilight album. He's made doom with March into the Sea and tortured │
│ prismatic weirdness with N.I.L., and his willingness to work with │
│ others is a crucial component of Transient, a record that benefits │
│ from pulling Jameson out of his own head. Opener ôOrder of the │
│ Solitary Roadö starts slow, turns into a sprint, manages to pick up │
│ the pace yet again and ultimately staggers off into the distance; │
│ itÆs a full-band feat, motivated by the drums but pulled along by │
│ Alex PooleÆs spectacularly assorted riffs. In the span of six │
│ minutes, he lands a perfectly slow, steely melody at the start and, │
│ near the middle, a grim, low-lying theme. │
│ │
│ And then there's Home , a long spoken-word cold stare and the sort │
│ of oddity that provides a welcome stopgap before the recordÆs │
│ charged finale. Over eerie, failed-transmission electronics, │
│ Integrity's Dwid Hellion and Thurston Moore trade stanzas about │
│ absence and loneliness. "The only home I know anymore is that of │
│ discomfort," Moore reads, a feeling of displacement which resides │
│ inside of me wherever I go." The plainspoken text reinforces the │
│ albumÆs depressive atmosphere, which can be intuited but, thanks to │
│ JamesonÆs delivery, never quite confirmed or dissected. It gives │
│ more breadth to those feelings, providing what started as solitary │
│ laments from a one-man band the benefit of misery in good company. │
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