(written by Islander)
As a musical instrument the saxophone seems to live in a walled garden. Probably no other instrument is more uniquely associated with jazz. Other instruments used in jazz ensembles have regular roles in other musical genres, but the saxophone? Not so much.
And so when people hear a saxophone, it’s hard not to think of jazz, even when the performer isn’t doing jazz riffs or jazzy noodling. But of course a lot of the time that’s what the performer really is doing, even in a different musical setting, such as metal and rock, where some bands (especially the proggier ones) have brought in guest sax performers to add a little unconventional spice.
Of course a few bands in rock and metal have a saxophonist as a regular member of their lineup — but it’s a tiny percentage. And maybe that’s because of the “walled garden” effect: It’s hard not to think of jazz when you hear the instrument, and the number of ardent metal fans who also like jazz (and vice-versa) probably isn’t a huge contingent (mind you, this is a wild guess).
And that brings us to Killing Spree, a French drum-and-saxophone duo who’ve applied a battering ram to the confines of that walled garden.
photo by Mathieu Vladimir Alliard
These two performers made their battering-ram intentions quite clear when they released a cover of Morbid Angel‘s “Rapture” in June of this year. They had already made their intentions pretty clear when they included covers of songs by Death and Meshuggah on their 2020 EP A Violent Legacy, but I didn’t know about that when I encountered their version of “Rapture“.
To borrow from what I impulsively expelled after seeing and hearing the video for that cover: “It shot lightning into my nerves and simultaneously scrambled my brains like swirled eggs on a hot pan.”
To borrow further:
“Grégoire Galichet‘s full-throttle yet acrobatic drumming is electrifying, and even more so because we get to see what he’s doing.
“Matthieu Metzger‘s saxophone deliriums are equally thrilling, and the tuning is such that if you were just listening you might not identify which instrument is causing all the siren-like wailing, the brazen blasts, the sonic gnashing of teeth, the menacing yowls, the squeals of deranged delight. In place of Trey Azagthoth‘s eye-popping guitar soloing, Metzger delivers his own saxophone freakouts, also eye-popping but even more mind-bending.
“Metzger‘s vocals cap off the barbarity with bleeding-raw howls, and even though he’s got to take his mouth off the instrument to vent those, the avalanche-inducing drumwork ably fills the space.”
Also very cool: The video. Cameraman Thomas Lincker filmed the duo’s performance handheld and in a single take. And it was filmed in an old tunnel of the famed Maginot Line, which contributed a natural reverb effect to the sound.
If you don’t know, Metzger has been a member of Klone, Anthurus d’Archer, National Jazz Orchestra, and the Louis Sclavis Quintet (among other credits), and Galichet‘s bona fides in the extreme music scene are evidenced by his roles with Dead Season, Deathcode Society, and Glaciation, and he has also played with Kwoon, King, Standing Wind, Reno, and Jethro Tull.
That “Rapture” cover song was intended to draw attention to the fact that Killing Spree had finished a debut album named Camouflage! that was then set for release in September by Klonosphere, Season of Mist, and Resistants Records. Subsequently they released another video filmed in the Maginot Line tunnels for the new album’s title song. I impulsively vomited up some words about that one too:
“I’m a fan of the saxophone and have always enjoyed hearing its participation in metal music. But even if you’re not a fan, don’t worry, because for the most part Matthieu Metzger contorts and distorts its sound so that you’d have trouble guessing what should be held accountable for all the savagely mangling, mercurially swirling, monstrously blurting, and crazily bleating sensations. (Before the end, in some of the song’s most freaked-out passages, I started thinking of King Crimson‘s “21st Century Schizoid Man”, which is intended as high praise).
“Grégoire Galichet is also one hell of a good drummer, and more than holds his own in this wild ride (he makes the ride even wilder). There aren’t many vocals in this track, but they’re authentically bestial. And just in case you think the song is just a bizarre head-spinner, Killing Spree also pick their moment to sledgehammer the listener six feet into the ground.”
The video is also a kick in the head to watch:
Camouflage! was indeed released in September, but thankfully Killing Spree aren’t finished releasing videos for music from the album, and we have another one for you today, this one for an album track named “All These Bells and Whistles“. Here’s how the band introduce it:
“We had to illustrate another aspect of the Camouflage album! ‘All These Bells and Whistles‘ was chosen for its much heavier atmosphere, obscure text and virtuoso ending. In this short version, there are no musicians, just bodies pounding out the relentless rhythm, a mouth screaming, an intrigued eye referring back to the album cover. Everything is interwoven like an endless video labyrinth, an absurd digital desolation.”
photo by Thomas Lincker
I think I’ll let that quotation stand as our commentary about the video — because it’s all true. As for the music:
The drums slowly thud, clap, and clatter; the cymbals crash; and sizzling tones grimly vibrate. The whole experience is grim, but when the saxophone begins its shrill screeching and moaning, the song begins to sound demented. When the distorted growls and gasps arrive, it also becomes demonic.
Eventually, as the music and the video continue playing unnerving mind games, the drums erupt in avalanche-bursts and the saxophone provides a surreal freakout, and then all hell really does break loose – drums blasting, saxophone spasming, the vocals going mad like a big rabid beast, culminating in a finale of free-jazz dementia.
And yes, this song really does have a strong jazz component, albeit one that sounds improvisational and — to repeat — demented.
Taken together, the title song and this one demonstrate that Camouflage! is a musically varied album, and there’s even more variety to be found in the other tracks — though not one of them plays it safe, by anyone’s rules. I’ll include the full album stream below, so you can understand that for yourselves.
BUY AND LEARN MORE:
https://orcd.co/killing_spree_camouflage
https://www.facebook.com/killingspreetrio