Artist: Ludicra
Label: Alternative Tentacles
Release Date: 9/14/04
Rating: 4 Skulls
| | Title: Another Great Love Song Artist: Ludicra Label: Alternative Tentacles Release Date: 9/14/04 Rating: 4 Skulls | ||
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Reviewed by Behemoth (5/9/06):
Ludicra were created fittingly on Halloween in 1998, as a raw and primal black metal band. Interesting monikers for the musicians being Aesop, Jesika Christ, and Raw Sewage, formerly of Impaled. They officially debuted in 1999 and amassed a Bay Area following. The band's musical and lyrical focus expands on the confines of the metal genre, delving into the harsh realities of modern despair. The album Hollow Psalms was released in the spring of 2002 on the label Life is Abuse, and the band began touring the West Coast, sharing the stage with notables High on Fire and Nunslaughter - a great band, if you don't already know. The band's fan base grew and they accumulated significant press and webzine coverage, including Metal Maniacs and Maximum Rock & Roll.For the follow up album, the band tapped the talents of veteran producer Billy Anderson, who's been behind the board for Melvins, Mr. Bungle and The Swans, which is quite cool. There's no surprise the band attracted major label interest or more specifically defined Alternative Tentacles Records. The label recognized the bands appeal which goes beyond the stereotypical black metal genre.
The band's creative side is well defined, featuring a dissonant primal style which clearly sets them apart from the mundane world of copycat land. Ludicra incorporate non-traditional song structures within avant-garde death metal orchestrations. Sweeping atmospherics are truly spellbinding and reawaken one's sense of the beauty and power of music. The vocals swerve from almost gothic chants to pure female range - killer. Immerse yourself with the playful devilry; go on explore the dark passages. Ludicra push the ill conceived boundaries of metal, they want to be compared to Darkthrone and Mayhem, but I say no, listen first and then conclude. Dawn Crosby (RIP) lives through Ludicra - who is she you say? Come on, where've you been? FEAR OF GOD.
Overall, the band manages to produce a very entertaining album with well-placed melody lines within dark musical structures. The title of the album is about the worst thing to say about the whole affair, I mean come on, what were they thinking with the sarcastically titled Another Great Love Song? This is the first black metal album for Alternative Tentacles Records, and way to go, because this is one of the best albums I've heard all year! The originality is superb and credit the band for following their own pathways, as we all should...
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