Artist: Halo
Label: Relapse Records
Release Date: 8/26/03
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Title: Body of Light Artist: Halo Label: Relapse Records Release Date: 8/26/03 |
Judgment Committee Reviews | Rating |
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4 | ||
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Read the Reviews of Guattari (From the West Flows Grey Ash and Pestilence)
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Go to Reader Reviews | ||
Abyss's Review:
The band apparently considers this a disc of Australian "anti-music", and that description is just about perfect. Little on this record can readily be called music, instead it is riffless meanderings of bass and guitar with steady, uneventful drumming keeping the 'pace' and sporadic growling thrown in for good measure.
"This is by far the most unmusical thing in my collection."
Comparing this to anything is an effort in futility, but here I go anyway. It reminds me of some of the more discordant parts of Bethlehem, but there is never a return to anything structured, the songs just plod along directionless. This is by far the most unmusical thing in my collection, rivaled only by some of Mike Patton and John Zorn's more experimental work. I'm sure there is some artsy-fartsy crowd out there that will tell me this is brilliant and I just am too ignorant to appreciate it, but I am proud to say that this goes way over my head. I definitely don't see the big picture here because these guys strike me as the Jackson Pollock of music. Now I know what you're thinking, many people thought Jackson Pollock was brilliant. I'm here to tell you those people are idiots. Just because you're an alcoholic doesn't mean you're an artist.
"One word review: Unlistenable. Other word review: Monotonous." And while I'm far from a huge fan of experimental music, I'm not totally averse to it either. Unfortunately, this "anti-music" doesn't offer anything for me to appreciate. It lacks atmosphere, texture, purpose - actually it's just one step up from blank tape. One word review: Unlistenable. Other word review: Monotonous.
Death's Review:
"Slow motion dirge," they call it. "Swallows the listener with the density of a collapsing star." Hmmm. I want to be able to understand this record, but I almost completely cannot. I suppose I only wish that I was hip enough. Surely there are die-hard fans of Halo? Please then explain to me how I am supposed to get into this seriously fucked up two-piece. Bass, drums, electronic noise and screams are all you get. I know how seriously you Australians take your underground metal bands, but if I have my way I'll never have to listen to this one ever again. This is not only "not great," it is honestly painful to listen to. Its noisiness is actually the least of its problems. The album is actually well-produced for what it is. But the songs are so . . . god . . . damned . . . slow . . . that it is almost torture waiting for that next snare drum beat to fall. There is nothing wrong with slow per se, but when the songs are this slow and this sparse, what might have otherwise passed for minimalist deconstruction of the classic metal riff and amped-up grind aesthetic devolves into a noisy, sloppy mess that is not any fun to listen to at all.
"This is not only 'not great,' it is honestly painful to listen to."
"This one stands out from the usual pile of mediocre, same-sounding crap... in all the most awful of ways." But it even goes beyond the slow and noisy - we're talking the complete absence of almost any "songs" at all. Sure, the band plays with an obvious passion, and sure, Halo are definitely doing something different. This one stands out from the usual pile of mediocre, same-sounding crap. Yet at the end of the day, it stands out in all the most awful of ways. I honestly get a headache listening to this. I'm left confused and annoyed. In the end, I'd rather be bored by another generic, uninspired, 2-skull release. This one is so bad it is even a notch below that, mostly because I cannot find a single redeeming element to hang my hat on. There is no musicianship. There are no songs. There is no energy. This is anti-music - and I like music.
Hel's Review:
Australia's Halo return with the follow up to Guattari (From the West Flows Grey Ash and Pestilence). I went back and listened to their last effort in an attempt to get into the Halo mindset, which worked out pretty well for me. Though Halo generally describes themselves as "anti-music," as they are indeed a "band" I feel I must attempt to describe them in musical terms. Essentially, it seems to me Halo's music is what you would have if you took one single Agoraphobic Nosebleed track and slowed it down in a super-sludgy doom fashion, making it last one hundred times longer than the original song did. That might be what a Halo song sounds like. I don't have the technology to do that and find out for sure, but this is the best way I can come up with to try and describe it.
"Sonic torture is pretty much what they're going for, and I imagine most will think of it this way."
"Some of you will understand. And if you do, this album is fucking brilliant." Halo is less about musical notes and more about noises. Distortion to the nth degree. Sonic torture is pretty much what they're going for, and I imagine most will think of it this way. Consider this though, the metal mindset is all about rage and pain, and the goal is the cathartic release of these emotions. Traditionally, you would take distorted guitar played with great precision at a very rapid rate to make the foundation for a metal song. Halo takes that same general idea, but turns it on its head, and drags out the same distorted note for a mind-boggling interval before moving on to the next. The same general technique is used for the drums and vocals. The songs this duo creates are sparse. Every moment of every note is wrought with emotion, and every dredge of that emotion is thoroughly wrung out of every last note.
Now, if you can believe it, I think the pace on this record is even more sedate than on the last. Body of Light is like the spot that lingers in your vision after you look at the sun: it hurts and seems like it lasts forever, and you know it will always happen when you look at the sun, yet you'll do it again and again. For the small subset of metalheads that will be able to get into the mindset necessary to truly appreciate this band, this album will be just like that. This is exactly the kind of album you want to listen to if you intend to wallow in your negative feelings before you let them go. Some of you will understand. And if you do, this album is fucking brilliant.
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