If Down I Go’s last album proper, This Is Disastercore, was the hardcore equivalent of a one-off history lecture helmed by Barney Greenway during a funny turn – literally, as the album bled laughs between its hastily delivered tales of unfortunate disasters from across the years – then its follow-up is the 10,000-work essay comprising the pass-or-die coursework. The Londoners have ditched (a lot of) the comedy and gone for the jugular, and rarely does Tyrant not leave its listener choked and bruised.
A phenomenal live act, Down I Go’s recordings haven’t always done their kinetic cacophonies justice, but this trait is remedied on Tyrant; lyrically we’re again turning the pages of a dozen encyclopaedias – or just skim-reading Wikipedia – as the lives of ‘popular’ tyrants from times gone by (and not so by) are dissected by vocalist Pete Fraser, but musically Down I Go have progressed leaps and bounds since their last outing. ‘Tomas de Torquemada’ – the first Inquisitor General of Spain – opens in fine form, with electro glitches and string (samples?) added to the traditional mix of harmonious backing vocals and blistering percussive bombast from expert sticksman Ben Standage.
Says Standage of the album: “When we started researching Vlad the Impaler and Pol Pot, we realised it’d be a much darker album; we’d have to take it more seriously”. While there’s still a comedic edge to the material of Tyrant – how can an album with track titles like ‘Joseph Stalin’, ‘Augusto Pinochet’ and ‘Aerial Sharon’ be all doom and gloom? – this serious approach to background development has extended to the execution of twelve arrangements that flex considerable muscles mostly, but also take the time to relax when their audience is utterly breathless and begging for mercy.
Much like Dillinger Escape Plan’s last, Ire Works (review), Tyrant finds Down I Go adventuring into compositional territories that even their firmest fans may have assumed beyond them based on older material. Yet they deliver the goods consistently, with flair to spare, and as such this long-player must go down as one of the year’s better hardcore releases. Its conceptual leanings may be an acquired taste, but the uncompromising brutality of these songs definitely is not.
Samples indeed!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3J54QfOAOs
Cheers for the review though dude! Glad you enjoyed it...
that video
is brilliant.
Get
Your rat out!
...
Addendum: One aspect of this band's music that I feel lifts it above many others, is that many of the songs do a great job of evoking the character of the subject. This was all well and fun on Dinocore where some of the lizards had their own little themes, which would sometimes be reprised in the context of other songs (and on one occasion - another album).
Tyrant, while not going as far as the aforementioned Dinocore, takes this to another level, as befitting the heavier nature of the subject matter. Hence the uniquely African nature of Idi Amin's despotism being bookended by some lovely Charlie Parker-y jazz bass, and the traditionally jolly fat image of Henry VIII being subverted by suitably pompous stabs of brass.
The best examples in my opinon both concern Russians. A huge combination of strings and guitar more than adequately puts across Stalin's responsiblity for tens of millions of deaths - making him arguably the world's 'best' tyrant. While Ivan the Terrible is a brilliant representation of the barely comprehending horror in the eyes of the man in Repin's painting.
The crushing metal that abruptly gives way to dare I say tender stringed instruments expertly tempers the brutality of the Czar's deeds with the personal tragedy and mental illness that plagued him throughout his life.
Admittedly, in all cases, this alliance of the lyrical and aural is hardly subtle, but it works. And more importantly, it's something you rarely encounter modern guitar bands even attempting. Perhaps now it's just unglamourous and/or nerdy for a lyricist to get out of his head and write about a subject bigger than himself (Free Nelson Mandela type songs excepted); let alone go so far as to do an entire album the same way.
Maybe we'll get lucky and find that in the near future, other bands will find the motivation to put their own unique spins on Down I Go's template. Because when it works, it fucking destroys faces.
charlie parker
didn't play bass?
But he did play 'Donna Lee'
from which there's an utterly tasteless quote at the end of one of the tunes by the lovely Peter Wright of Vessels fame (NAMEDROP!!!ish).
I, needless to say, WASN'T in the studio that day... :)
...
Trying to work out where I'd heard it before was doing my head in. Then magically, the Jaco version popped up randomly on the iPod the other week. All hail shuffle mode!
GLORY TO SHUFFLE THE MODE!
I still listen
to that Jaco album about once a month or so.
Everyone plays so beautifully on that, particularly Jaco, Narada Michael Walden, Wayne Shorter and Herbs.
Need to dig that out tomorrow actually!
SAMPLES?!
Not on your nelly!
LOL
Aerial Sharon - he ruled Israel from his palace in the clouds!
Must check out this album
hence the name
Yo this review is brilliant, and not because the album is... and the album is!! But what they have created is something new, and another fantastic reason to put your ears through the suffering of heavy sounds.
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Cheers buddy
Glad you enjoyed it...