Finally, the wait is over: I get to ramble on and on about my favorite TMV album.
First of all, I want to discuss the general philosophy this album follows: go balls to the wall, rock out as hard as you can, as loud as you can. Looking for another gradual build-up intro like Vicarious Atonement? Piss off. Aberinkula hits you hard from the opening note, and doesn't let up. Welcome to Bedlam. Get used to it. Metatron is slightly less completely and utterly bat-shit insane, but is still plenty heavy. Ilyena is probably my favorite TMV song ever, with a funky, infectious groove, perfect vocals from Cedric, and, to quote Pitchfork, "six minutes of Thomas Pridgen soloing." (This is a good thing though)
It's at this point that I need to talk about the drumming, because it creates much of the love and respect I have for this album. Yes, Jon Theodore is no longer with us. Thomas Pridgen has replaced him. But, as great a drummer as Jon Theodore is, I like Pridgen more. Technically, Theodore is probably superior. But I'm not exaggerating when I say that Pridgen fits TMV perfectly, and because of this no other drummer could do what he does on this album. TMV is at their best when they adopt a "fuck-it" attitude and just jam the fuck out. Pridgen is at his best when he is able to just jam the fuck out. And TMV unleash their new member in full on this album.
Pridgen again gets put on display in the 2-minute single Wax Simulacra, which is unlike TMV have ever done. Goliath, my second favorite TMV song ever, is just a full out jam: all members just going nuts, with multiple guitar solos from Omar, Cedric screaming, Pridgen going nuts on the skins. Tourniquet Man finally slows things down for a few minutes, bridging the two halves of the album nicely together.
I will admit that the second half of the album has never clicked as much with me as the first half, which is still for my money five of the best tracks ever laid down in a row. Part of the reason I think is because, while the first five do rock incredibly well, they also retain the focus found in Amputechture. I think the second half, especially tracks like Cavalettas, do lose that focus a little and are a little bit more confused and aimless. Not to say that these tracks aren't good: Agadez, Ouroborous, and Conjugal Burns are all righteous. But the first half of the album is simply genious, and that's difficult to match.
Overall, I love this album because of the absolute frenzied nature of it. I've said this before, I feel that TMV is at their best when they don't try and hold themselves back, when they just go for it completely, no holds barred. And as far as crazy goes, this album is crazy, in a deliciously good way.
Have you seen the living tired of their own shells?
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