Swans Filth
By DeadSun

"Stick your hand in your eye. Close your fist. Resist." --- Michael Gira

There are three kinds of musical performers in the world. 

The first group makes up the largest segment. They define their work within the areas of previously established musical boundaries. That is to say, boundaries of style, and boundaries of what might be best described as architecture. This is not to say that nothing of worth comes from this first group--- I merely mean that these persons, by virtue of their proceeding from this location, know the waters which they navigate when they embark upon the creative process. Here, few points are truly "unknowns". 

The second group is comprised of those performers whose body of work influences entire generations of the first group. These are the legends most likely to be cited as major influences on music by any person who picks up an instrument, or any persons engaging in the en masse collection of musical recordings. They are the standard-bearers. They are the ones whom we hold up as the master architects. 

The third group is the rarest of the three. They are the obscure pioneers. They seek to build new sounds, and jar the air with strange rhythmic juxtapositions. To the detriment of gaining broad recognition, they seek out unprecedented ways to express the inner experience, and in return forge those seminal, primordial pieces that go on to form the building blocks used to innovate. These are those rare individuals who, while remaining virtual unknowns to even the most avid lover of music, are those who often water the garden for that second group who (in turn) goes on to influence all others after them.

It is within this third category that Michael Gira's exquisitely harsh and ponderous outfit, Swans, lands. Few are familiar of the staggering catalogue of music that this project released between 1982-1997 (Gira is presently involved in new projects). Some fled in confusion after their first listen. Others, in understanding the sincere intent behind Swans' work, have an unquenchable thirst to acquire their recordings--- and with good reason. As sculptors of a sound that (for what could be argued as the first 5-6 releases) was a steely but complimentary cast of hauntingly heavy elements, there are but few artists who can match Swans' ability to contrarily draw in and dishevel the listener. 

With their 1983 release Filth, Swans capture a musical reel on canvas that entrances and disrupts, compels and lulls, and makes the senses leap to life. Filth is, with little room for doubt, a recording without precedent. Within this daunting vision, strange textures grate against lyrics stretched to a snapping point, often presented with the inflection used when giving harsh commands. In an absolute sense, the work is grounded in the emotional, but knows no subtlety--- its edges create a shape that is a sonically steep and jagged crag. The work is seminal to early industrial, as well as its tonal approach which was later to be adopted into the emerging grindcore aesthetic. Inasmuch as the music moves like a crawling, crashing dirge, it should be noted that Swans' early works aided in the evolution of doom metal.  

The heaviness of this recording simply cannot be charted, and I refer to a heaviness quite unlike what fans of heavy metal might be imagining it to be. The heaviness is not derived from riffs or speed, as one frequently finds within the conventions of the heavy metal format. The overall effect, the overall sound, is heavy to the point that it lumbers like a lead monolith. Repetition is elevated by the driving gigantism of the drums. The guitar work slithers with a cacophonous din of diminished chords and chromatic squelches. The effect is hypnotic, and Filth sounds rather like a Voodoo priest who has seized control of a steel manufacturing plant--- a vague marriage between primitivism and post-industrial mechanics. The violence of the assault is depraved, however it is controlled.

As you might have guessed, Swans' material is very difficult to track down, but worth the effort. I would recommend Filth to a diverse group--- fans of Current 93, Godflesh, Jesu, Alien Sex Fiend, (perhaps even) Frank Zappa, the writings of Henry Rollins, (early) Ministry, experimental/noise heavy metal fans, (open-minded) doom metal enthusiasts, NNTPFF, Joy Division, and Einsturzende Neubauten.

In every possible sense of the word, Filth is one of the heaviest recordings I have ever laid ears on. Heavy in breadth, heavy in thematics and content, heavy in force, heavy in presence, and heavy in substance. There may very well be nothing else that sounds like this obscure recording. When trendies carelessly throw around terms like avant-garde, they do nothing but diminish the power of the term--- particularly when it can be truthfully applied to the work of Michael Gira.

Until next month,

DS

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KISS Destroyer
By Keavin Wiggins

"I hear my song and it pulls me through / comes on strong,  tells me what I got ta do" – Paul Stanley

Almost 30 years ago, KISS had their finest musical moment with the release of Destroyer. While the band's first three albums will always be classics and Alive made them stars, it was Destroyer that proved beyond a doubt that the band was more than just face paint and platform boots. At this point in time KISS already have a sound all their own, sure they borrowed from those that came before, but there wasn't a bandwagon in sight that they would tie themselves to as they set out to prove once and for all that they had a measure of musical credibility. Sadly, they would lose that focus over the next few albums, which had high points but had nowhere near the genius of Destroyer or even the first three studio albums. In 1981, they tried to prove themselves again after falling into disco hell, by producing Music From the Elder, an album that KISS fans either really loved or really hated and the critics, for which the album was primarily made for, hated. In the 80's the face paint came off and the band focused on the music, but for the most part they held themselves captive to trends and as a result those albums do have a dated quality to them. However, Destroyer above all stands as one of the band's brightest musical shining moments. It was not quite Sgt Pepper, but it was a damn good album from a band that none of the "people in the know" took seriously. That was ok; the KISS Army stood up and took notice.  

Destroyer was a departure for KISS. By the time they wrote this album Paul was a seasoned songwriter and it shows. The first three albums hold plenty of classics and memorable riffs that have cemented KISS into history but Destroyer showed a band maturing and stepping a bit outside of the box, taking chances. The album opens with "Detroit Rock City," a worthy anthem like follow up to "Rock and Roll All Night".  The imagery of the lyrics together with the unforgettable riffs made this song an instant classic and really set the tone for the album.  You knew from the first few moments that Destroyer was something special.  As "DRC" culminates in a car crash, Ace's lead guitar grabs you by the ears and leads you into "King of the Nighttime World", a song that just screams to be blasted at full volume as you race down the road to a party or concert. The lyrics about the frustrations of growing up and using music as an escape struck a chord with the band's young fans and even those of us that were too young for KISS in their heyday could identify with it when it came time for us to discover it.  

The next song is a testament to Bob Ezrin's influence over this album. Contrary to contemporary wisdom, "God of Thunder" was actually written by Paul. But legend has it that Ezrin heard the song and decided that the lyrics fit perfectly with Gene's "demon" persona and took the up-tempo melodic rocker and had Paul and company recast it into a heavier and darker song more fitting with Gene's larger than life and evil stage character. A new classic was born and it remains to this day one of Gene's signature songs. 

Ezrin's experimental influence carries on with the next track, "Great Expectations". Gene finally chimes in with the closing track to side one and it's not what you'd expect from the bat lizard. The midtempoed verses are met by larger than life choruses complete with a boys choir.  By this point you know that KISS had forever changed from the "let's stick to the basics" approach of their early work. 

Side 2 opened up with another anthem, "Flaming Youth," another song about the struggles of youth which featured Ace's only credited songwriting contribution to Destroyer (Gene, Paul, Ace and Ezrin are listed as co-writers).  This is my favorite KISS song of all time, I can't tell you why directly, it just captured my attention when I first heard it and it has all of the classic elements of KISS; Paul's captivating chorus, Ace's unmistakable riffs and leads, and that overall uniquely KISS sound.  

Gene checks in next with his ode to S&M, "Sweet Pain," complete with insipid lyrics that is classic Gene.  For the next track, Gene and Paul probably had in mind writing another anthem as a follow up to "Rock and Roll All Night", while "Shout it Out Loud" was a memorable KISS anthem it did not quite reach that pinnacle.   

It was the next track that forever placed Destroyer apart in KISStory. "Beth" is about the last thing you would expect from this band and word has it that when Peter brought this track in he was met with a lot of resistance from Gene and Paul, but it was ultimately recorded. Gone were the roaring guitars and drums and instead Ezrin employed an orchestra to back up Peter Criss. The result is a heartfelt ballad about a musician's struggle to balance his musical aspirations against his love life and of course the music wins. Gene and Paul later said that they felt this song was a "throw away" that they released it as the b-side to "Detroit Rock City", but radio DJs flipped the record over and KISS ended up with biggest single of their careers. Of course, the critics blasted it for not sounding like KISS, which was funny because these are the same people that found fault with the KISS sound to begin with. 

"Do You Love Me" was another bit of a departure for KISS. The guitars are toned down and the rhythm section leads that way as Paul wonders if his beloved really loves him or the trappings of fame. Musically, this was another major step outside the box for KISS and they succeeded, as the song is still a staple of their live show to this day. 

The album ends with a Sgt Pepper like outro that mixes the boys choir chorus from "Great Expectations" with Paul's live call to arms to fans fading in "… we're gonna have ourselves a rock and roll party…"  It was fitting end to the album and the band had lived up to the great expectations that followed the success of Alive. 

I can't speak for the KISS Army, especially the first draftees to the movement because that heyday came a decade before my time. But when I discovered KISS in the 80s (when it definitely wasn't cool to like this band) it was Destroyer that made me an instant fan. The makeup was long gone and the hype was over when I made this discovery, but I can tell you from that perspective, the music still had that larger than life quality that propelled KISS to international fame. For me it was always about the music over the image, and with Destroyer KISS proved that they could live up to the challenge, even if "those in the know" ignored it.  But KISS had the last laugh, here we are 30 years after KISS broke out in a big way with Alive and they are still around. Sure, the image played a part in their fame but image will only take you so far, there had to be music to back it up and Destroyer proved once and for all that KISS deserved a place in Rock and Roll history. Sadly, over the past decade the band has become what the critics always accused them of being; a band that lived off their image. But, some would say that they have earned the right to rest on their laurels and Destroyer is a shining example of why they still continue to captive new generations. They may not be the flaming youth of the 70s that created this album but KISS still shows the flaming youth that came after that Rock and Roll is best when it is larger than life. So Shout it Out Loud!

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