That’s how you play fucking extreme music! 4th full-length album of these Czech fans of Japanese culture :), coming full 5 years after the previous “Rising Sun Carnage”…and what an album it is!
Slightly over 25 minutes and with 21 songs, this is fast as hell, brutal onslaught on your ears – if you’re familiar with Jig-Ai, then it’s a pleasure…and if you’re not..well, even pain might bring you some pleasure – Asian torture experts would tell you a story or two about it, so better don’t complain.
Released by Czech label Bizarre Leprous Productions, this is great sounding stuff, although, I have to say, first 4 songs (Fujiculate, Last Fugu Ritual, He-Gassen Warrior and Noodle Rice Bondage) kinda sounds the same (but as they are short and fast, it’s not much of a problem and great vokills saves the day anytime), with 5th track “The Kokyu Orgasm” we’re getting a little Japanese flute intro, which is more than welcome, before being submerged into the bulldozing sheer insanity, but both thumbs up for the rhythmical passages in this song.
And with “Boobzilla” (track #6), guys find their melodic side (buried under the layers of relentless drumming), and it is another great song from this album.
I was afraid that 7th track “Corporal Jigsore Hitomi” will slide back into the average drumfest and distortion masturbation, but thankfully it’s not that case and that amazing break in the middle of the song it’s simply too great to play only once or twice. Shame it’s not longer, but that’s how you make great songs. At least in my opinion.
One of the nice things on this album are the songs’ titles, and “Tattooed By Pitchfork” is no exception and while clocking in only 1 minute, it helps to keep the album over the water average material also with those sick distorted bass passages. Have I already mentioned that sick vokill? Have I? Ok, yeah, it’s sick.
Numero 9 and “Geysers Of Blood” is surprising with that almost post-metal squeeling guitars and the whole song sounds familiar due to the guitar work, and I am enjoying it to the very last second. Such stuff I like.
“Shuriken Facelift” and track number 10. One of the best songs – if not the best song -of this album. Enough said.
Following “Entrails Tsunami” only confirms my contention about the melodicity of some songs. This one is my favorite for the unexpected fucking great riff and drumwork. Fuck, I want to play drums like that!!! Of course, not gonna happen, but I am wondering, why this great track isn’t actually the opening track? Yes, with aforementioned “Shuriken Facelift” definitely highlights of the album.
First dozen is closed by “Knak”, but to be really honest with you, it’s just average in my opinion, but with 41 seconds of its length, no one would complain.
And I’d probably send to the sea of average songs another one as well, but “Kanamara Matsuri” has a feature which has prompted to get into the favourites, and that is – maybe unexpectedly – small riff technique in the first third of the song.
But Jig-Ai has the ability to hide the best stuff in the layers of sheer brutality, just to unveil the goodies in the middle of songs. That’s why “Impaled By Swordfish” with its core like interlude is so great.
Interestingly, I’ve though we’re gonna slow down with 15th track “Head On Stakes”, and I guess we did a little, but that’s only for the best, as this one – the longest track on the album – is without a doubt the most diverse and most attractive of the songs presented here and definitely of the “hitsong” material.
Honest to God, one thing I still don’t get – why “Certificate Of Perversity”, and few other songs here, starts with almost the same beginning, quickly disinteresting the listener to the point of almost skip to the next track, while hiding in the very next second of the song actual great material? “Certificate Of Perversity” is the nice example of it. First 31 second is “OK, here we go again”, then suddenly guys change tempo and style, if only for a while and voilez, absolutely kick ass song!
And “Permanently Hard”, fortunately, contains more varied stuff, so again, my mood is getting better and with “Nunchuck Massage” is even higher. Now we’re talking, guys! This is more to my taste (which, obviously, is absolutely subjective), but this rhythm-based song is catchy as fuck and suddenly I feel urge to mosh. Not with my arthritis ridden foot tho’…
And as guys keep the good stuff for the other half of the album, “Bamboo Log Worship” with its 1:00 of playtime again raises the log of quality higher and just confirms the fact you don’t have to play x-minutes long song to actuallyshine. That riff is fucking killer.
One before the last song….”Decapitation Ceremony” and that’s goregrind pure and simple. No, back..erase, rewind..that’s THE goregrind. Exactly as it should be.
What about the closing track? “Aokigahara Picnic” is something I am not gonna research, lol, but with it we came full circle right to the beginning. Or so it feels, as it sound similar to the opening track “Fujiculate”.
So, what to say about the album? Goregrind fans will definitely be delighted. It’s not bad album at all and it surely will find its place in my collection (and the need to have that t-shirt is slowly rising up, the artwork is simply outstanding), however, it still has some dull places. Which, as I’m thinking about it, is good – otherwise, how could you get better on the next album, right?
OK, enough bitchin’. Go get that CD. You know you want to and actually – you need to. You deserve good goregrind and Jig-Ai delivers.
Orders it here: http://bizarreleprous.cz/
