(Our man BadWolf reviews the new album by Benighted.)
Extreme metal musicians traffic in abrasion. Part of the music’s appeal stems from its opposition to the traditional harmonies of western musical tradition (which persist well into popular music). I believe the downside to abrasive, dissonant sound is that, much like spicy food or drugs, the human brain builds up a tolerance to it. Metalheads can grow tired of what normal people would consider highly abrasive music (say, Arch Enemy) and move toward even ruder sounds (say, Pig Destroyer).
But there is one sound that even the most dissonance-starved metalheads often cannot stand: the high-pitched inhaled shriek. The pig squeal. The bree.
Perhaps I am an unconscionable addict. Consider me a fan of the bree. And my pusher man into pig land is vocalist Julien Truchan of French brutal death outfit Benighted, whose new album, Carnivore Sublime, has rarely left my earbuds this week. Truchan’s vocal talent is formidable in all areas—he growls deep, shouts loud, and does it all while enunciating better than many vocalists claiming English as a native tongue. He transitions between all of these styles with the fluidity of mercury suspended in a vial. Then again, so do lots of vocalists.
What Truchan can do like nobody else is bree. Whether they serve primary vocal duty, or accentuate some other style, his shriek pierces through all levels of noise. The man has elevated the mating cry of swine into art, in the way Mariah Carey did with her falsetto on her song “Emotions.”
Yes, I am suggesting that we call Truchan the Mariah Carey of death metal. Continue reading »
