Krisiun - AssassiNation
It’s been a few years since their last studio album, or maybe I just didn’t notice it, although I do remember picking up a DVD of the band recently. Krisiun have become one of the premier death metal trios of their era, having graduated from something of a Morbid Angel clone into their own take on the genre and AssassiNation might be something of a step up in its own right. While I find the trio format in this style a little limiting (always prefer two guitarists), Krisiun are almost breathtakingly technical and professional, delivering some rather devilish riffs and managing to make a few of them as stand outs as well. Likely it’ll end up around 10-11 like all their albums, but if I was to pick their best, it might end up being this one. Thing about this band, for me, is I’m usually high on them for a listen or two only to come down after a while because of the trio limitations. Here’s hoping this one breaks this mold.
Cardiacs - Rare Videos 1: Surbiton Assembly Rooms 4/18/85
Cardiacs - Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth 11/7/05
It’s actually kind of amazing how close, at times, these two sets, separated by over 20 years, sound. As someone zonked between the eyes by live Cardiacs, but not as much by the studio albums, I’m wondering where their “repertoire” songs tend to originate from as apparently they predate the CD releases and must have come from the cassettes.
The DVD I’ve written about before, it’s fast becoming a contender for my best live show lists. I’ve seen or heard a few other shows including the other title I’ll get to in a bit, but none that feature the original band with full time saxophonist and keyboards player. A lot of Cardiacs songs are actually not quite as complex as they seem, often 4/4 rhythms where each downbeat is a new chord and/or key change, giving one the impression, for some reason, that there is more rhythmic trickery than there actually is. I like it, keeping everything grounded by a danceable pulse, it’s something I’m more inclined to as a I go, the idea of the balance between a progressive, exploratory ethic and something more accessible - good songwriting, usually. So much of it is the energy, something often lacking in music with a tunefully medodic nature. It’s a very infectious show, one that has impressed friends of mine from various different tastes.
The 05 audio show is an excellent sound show, although I forget if it’s audience or soundboard, it sounds like the latter. It’s more of a stripped down Cardiac sound, but the mix of newer music and the old classics made it rather instantly absorbable. Why this band isn’t dragged over to one of the prog festivals over here is anyone’s guess, as they’re possibly one of the greatest bands from the UK in the post 80s era and were perhaps too ahead of the game during their peak.