Sickle of Dust - Across The Vulture Trail - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

The elegance of howling guitar noise was fully realized when The Dead C appeared. For over twenty years now, the trio has continually redefined what rock music is and can sound like, and have inspired Sonic Youth, Yo La Tengo, Wolf Eyes, and Comets on Fire, not to mention the current fertile underground noise scene. The Dead C is the ultimate Blues band. But rather than departing from the heartfelt singing of the African-American South, they express the tenants of alienation in society with unrelenting force, a focused soundtrack to accompany Knut Hamsun novels, Samuel Beckett plays, and Ingmar Bergman films. Michael Morley's monotonic vocal moan anchors the inherent isolation of our modern world.

The musical arrangements, balanced between the symphonic elements and raw crunching BM, bring an emotional range that can be very intense, whether the mood is sad or grim and determined. It's a pity that the song's structure, building up as it does to emotional instrumental breaks and a sorrowful coda, and the prominence of the vocals are not mirrored elsewhere in the album.

Under the Scythe - Realms Of The Void [COMPACT DISCS] date 01/17/2025