Meatjack
Days of Fire
8.6
Somewhere between Today is the Day and Neurosis lurks a band that has created a very compelling piece of "psyche-metal". A band that sculpts horror and diss-ease from the heaviest of metal slabs. And these artistes of noise are called Meatjack. And like the two above mentioned bands, there is not much chance everything this band does will appeal to someone. This is music you explore and sometimes discard. But more often you revel in the plot and pacing of the stories it makes in your mind.
As apt to go blasting as it is to scrape along slowly, this is a deft recording that sucks you in the longer you play it. But due to its desire to wrench art from aether, sometimes the band will get their heads into an idea and not let it go, even though it isn't going anywhere. The question is where will you decide this is occurring? This is one of those "I like song A, and B, but C bugged the fuck out of me" type records where the next person to hear it will declare "A and C were fantastic, but B was awful". Well, that's not quite the case, really. See, the whole record is listenable, but when it grabs your nutsack it really grabs it. The songs that don't grab you SEEM to be lesser in quality for this reason, but realistically they don't suck. And honestly any record that inspires that kind of passion is worth a listen.
The musicianship is good, but not mind blowing. The rhythm section can fuck it up with ease, and guitars are elegantly composed and heartfully played. The vocalist really draws the Neurosis/Steve Austin connection, though. His delivery is of that not-quite-out-of-control shouting/screaming variety you find in these two groups. He has great emotional presence and really moves the songs, complimenting the music exceptionally.
The production is very spare for a metal record, reminding me of the Fugazi style of sounding like a band anyone could be in. The band creates all the heaviness on their own, and while this may not rattle your Klipsches it has a DIY ambience that the listener can relate to. Each player is heard and no one gets left behind or stepped on.
Bottom line: This is a rare enough record for being able to drag you all over the emotional spectrum. It takes chances with its own format and is uncontent to simply let things be. I am always intrigued by bands that play this dangerous game. But the simple fact is the parts of this record I don't LOVE are not nearly enough to keep me from recommending it to you. It has passion, soul, fire and weight,all the ingredients of great music in any genre. I would suggest you look into it. I know this motherfucker is going to be nailing my ears come the end of the year.
