HR025 - Viktimized Karcass — Madness & Mayhem — C90 — 1985
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Side A
1. Man vs. Destiny 2. In Search Of The Wombat 3. No More 4. No Where To Live Side B 1. Politics & Comix (Or My Baby Don't Care About Politics & Comic Books, But I Can Fuck Your Wife Before The Monster) 2. Dance Of Poseurs 3. 3:32 A.M. Rain Chris Phinney: Synths, Vocals, Effects Pete McLean: Drums Richard Martin: Synths, Vocals, Effects Roger Moneymaker: Guitars, Effects Harsh Reality Music Memphis, Tennessee |
REVIEW by Jerry Kranitz
The third Viktimized Karcass cassette album features the so far steady quartet of Chris Phinney on synths, vocals and effects, Richard Martin on synths, vocals and effects, Roger Moneymaker on guitar and effects, and Pete McLean on drums.
The band blast off the launch pad with ‘Man vs Destiny’ a riotous space rocker that recalls electronic punked out Alien Soundtracks era Chrome, a reference I make often with this band. We’ve got a dance driving drum beat, rocking searing noise-drones, twiddling freaked out keys, ripping feedback noisy acidic guitar, oodles of effects, and spoken/sung and efx’d vocals. This sucker ROCKS out and takes its time exploring in noisy chaotic SPACE and is a POTENT set opener. ‘In Search Of The Wombat’ is a delirious glom of space effects, wildly whirring oscillations, and lazily tripping acid-noise-blues guitar riffage. Some of the keys sound like Alien Planetscapes. In fact, Karcass in some ways bring to mind a noise-punk version of Alien Planetscapes, a band they would later collaborate with as Alien Karcasscapes. Lots cool sound and effects experimentation and caustic jamming. ‘No More’ is a horror film space-doom tune with punk ranting vocals. I love the acid melodic and cosmic screeeeeeeaming guitar leads that seem to rile up Phinney’s vocal passions. A tasty lengthy stretch out exploration. And ‘No Where To Live’ closes Side A with a metallic chord bashing rhythmic groove that anchors this spaced out noise rocker. Yet once again we’ve got really cool noisily edgy yet tastefully melodic guitar leads and whacked out electronics and vocals.
Karcass show no quarter as Side B keeps the intensity level high with a tornadic blend of freeform improvisational acid rock, Hawkwind Space Ritual, and rumbling noise-metal. Karcass are cruise control jamming through space, like Guru Guru meets Keiji Haino at CBGBs. And the guitars are OUT THERE, with killer swirling, serpentine, Beefheart bluesy, brain fried leads. Chaotic rock ‘n’ rolling rules the quadrant among the stars these guys have planted their flag in. Moneymaker is a monster space rock freakout guitarist on this stretched out space rock and sound effects experimental jam for the ages. And all throughout the vocals ramble and growl like a deranged alien punk. ‘Dance Of The Poseurs’ is a cosmic cauldron of frantic swirls, oscillations, and pulsations, wind tunnel roars of abrasive rage, frantically jamming acid metallic space rock, and an overall sense of lobotomized sound experimental pandemonium. Karcass do not let up for a second. Mercy finally comes with a shift to a slow, and, for Karcass, surprisingly pastoral version of the Skoptzies song ‘3:32 A.M. Rain’. There are still zany spaced out lysergic effects, but this is an easy going avant rocker with a lovely melody which is taunted by sound effect catcalls.... and then, for the finale, the music goes all inverted as we get sucked into a black hole of backwards effects and collage. The end.
INTERVIEW with Chris Phinney by Jerry Kranitz
JK: So on Madness & Mayhem you still had a steady lineup of the Phinney, McLean, Martin and Moneymaker quartet.
CP: The cover is two tombstones I put rub on graphics on. And I labeled the tombstones Madness and Mayhem. And then Man’s Destiny.
JK: Is Man’s Destiny part of the title?
CP: It was just a joke. I noticed you left out all the abbreviated ‘But can I fuck your wife before the monster’ shit (laughs).
JK: One of the reasons I wondered how much in touch with Doug Walker (Alien Planetscapes) you might have been in this period… the song ‘In Search Of The Wombat’ on Madness & Mayhem, the keyboards have an Alien Planetspaces sound. I described it as a noise-punk take on what I’d been accustomed to with Alien Planetscapes.
CP: You noticed on Madness & Mayhem we did ‘3:32 A.M. Rain’. The Skoptzies tune.
JK: I did. And it was a great closing number to the set. How did you happen to select that one?
CP: I love that tune.
JK: I described it as a surprisingly, for Karcass anyway, a surprisingly pastoral version of ‘3:32 A.M. Rain’. It’s a great finale to that tape. I’ve got a question about the titles. On Side B it says ‘Politics & Comix’, and then you’ve got a whole bunch of stuff in parentheses. Were they separate songs or…
CP: It’s the same song.
JK: So it’s one big song all the way through. Because that’s sure the way it sounded.
CP: Yeah, that’s one song. That’s where we got a lot of that shit. We dropped some of it like ‘My baby don’t care about politics & comic books, but can I fuck your wife before the monster’.
JK: This is another one where I was struck by all kinds of crazy analogies. I mention Hawkwind Space Ritual, rumbling noise-metal, Guru Guru meets Keiji Haino at CBGBs, Beefheart Blues… all these impressions are hitting me as it progresses. I really like it. And that’s also why I think ‘3:32 A.M. Rain’ is such a killer finale to that side of the tape.
CP: I think that’s the last time it was ever recorded. All of us also listened to a lot of Soft Machine and Gong. Amon Düül, we listened to all that stuff.
The third Viktimized Karcass cassette album features the so far steady quartet of Chris Phinney on synths, vocals and effects, Richard Martin on synths, vocals and effects, Roger Moneymaker on guitar and effects, and Pete McLean on drums.
The band blast off the launch pad with ‘Man vs Destiny’ a riotous space rocker that recalls electronic punked out Alien Soundtracks era Chrome, a reference I make often with this band. We’ve got a dance driving drum beat, rocking searing noise-drones, twiddling freaked out keys, ripping feedback noisy acidic guitar, oodles of effects, and spoken/sung and efx’d vocals. This sucker ROCKS out and takes its time exploring in noisy chaotic SPACE and is a POTENT set opener. ‘In Search Of The Wombat’ is a delirious glom of space effects, wildly whirring oscillations, and lazily tripping acid-noise-blues guitar riffage. Some of the keys sound like Alien Planetscapes. In fact, Karcass in some ways bring to mind a noise-punk version of Alien Planetscapes, a band they would later collaborate with as Alien Karcasscapes. Lots cool sound and effects experimentation and caustic jamming. ‘No More’ is a horror film space-doom tune with punk ranting vocals. I love the acid melodic and cosmic screeeeeeeaming guitar leads that seem to rile up Phinney’s vocal passions. A tasty lengthy stretch out exploration. And ‘No Where To Live’ closes Side A with a metallic chord bashing rhythmic groove that anchors this spaced out noise rocker. Yet once again we’ve got really cool noisily edgy yet tastefully melodic guitar leads and whacked out electronics and vocals.
Karcass show no quarter as Side B keeps the intensity level high with a tornadic blend of freeform improvisational acid rock, Hawkwind Space Ritual, and rumbling noise-metal. Karcass are cruise control jamming through space, like Guru Guru meets Keiji Haino at CBGBs. And the guitars are OUT THERE, with killer swirling, serpentine, Beefheart bluesy, brain fried leads. Chaotic rock ‘n’ rolling rules the quadrant among the stars these guys have planted their flag in. Moneymaker is a monster space rock freakout guitarist on this stretched out space rock and sound effects experimental jam for the ages. And all throughout the vocals ramble and growl like a deranged alien punk. ‘Dance Of The Poseurs’ is a cosmic cauldron of frantic swirls, oscillations, and pulsations, wind tunnel roars of abrasive rage, frantically jamming acid metallic space rock, and an overall sense of lobotomized sound experimental pandemonium. Karcass do not let up for a second. Mercy finally comes with a shift to a slow, and, for Karcass, surprisingly pastoral version of the Skoptzies song ‘3:32 A.M. Rain’. There are still zany spaced out lysergic effects, but this is an easy going avant rocker with a lovely melody which is taunted by sound effect catcalls.... and then, for the finale, the music goes all inverted as we get sucked into a black hole of backwards effects and collage. The end.
INTERVIEW with Chris Phinney by Jerry Kranitz
JK: So on Madness & Mayhem you still had a steady lineup of the Phinney, McLean, Martin and Moneymaker quartet.
CP: The cover is two tombstones I put rub on graphics on. And I labeled the tombstones Madness and Mayhem. And then Man’s Destiny.
JK: Is Man’s Destiny part of the title?
CP: It was just a joke. I noticed you left out all the abbreviated ‘But can I fuck your wife before the monster’ shit (laughs).
JK: One of the reasons I wondered how much in touch with Doug Walker (Alien Planetscapes) you might have been in this period… the song ‘In Search Of The Wombat’ on Madness & Mayhem, the keyboards have an Alien Planetspaces sound. I described it as a noise-punk take on what I’d been accustomed to with Alien Planetscapes.
CP: You noticed on Madness & Mayhem we did ‘3:32 A.M. Rain’. The Skoptzies tune.
JK: I did. And it was a great closing number to the set. How did you happen to select that one?
CP: I love that tune.
JK: I described it as a surprisingly, for Karcass anyway, a surprisingly pastoral version of ‘3:32 A.M. Rain’. It’s a great finale to that tape. I’ve got a question about the titles. On Side B it says ‘Politics & Comix’, and then you’ve got a whole bunch of stuff in parentheses. Were they separate songs or…
CP: It’s the same song.
JK: So it’s one big song all the way through. Because that’s sure the way it sounded.
CP: Yeah, that’s one song. That’s where we got a lot of that shit. We dropped some of it like ‘My baby don’t care about politics & comic books, but can I fuck your wife before the monster’.
JK: This is another one where I was struck by all kinds of crazy analogies. I mention Hawkwind Space Ritual, rumbling noise-metal, Guru Guru meets Keiji Haino at CBGBs, Beefheart Blues… all these impressions are hitting me as it progresses. I really like it. And that’s also why I think ‘3:32 A.M. Rain’ is such a killer finale to that side of the tape.
CP: I think that’s the last time it was ever recorded. All of us also listened to a lot of Soft Machine and Gong. Amon Düül, we listened to all that stuff.