Last time I checked, I wasn’t crazy, and I’m not that much of an idiot either, so I’m not particularly adept of Sadist’s Lego. They switched to nu-metal and failed at it. And let me stress the “failed at it” part, rather than the “They switched to nu-metal” part. I really don’t have a problem with bands changing style from one album to the other. I couldn’t care less if Deathspell Omega started playing dubstep as long as it were good. I do have to admit that it would have been quite a shock if Deathspell Omega had switched to dubstep just like that, but I know people who would hate them simply for the fact that they changed. But I suppose those people will avoid Cranial Incisored like the RIAA anyway, so I don’t really know why I mentioned them. I mean, it’s not like their style on Rebuild:The Unfinished Interpretation Of Irrational Behavior was that easy to put your finger on to begin with, unless you could call “AAAARRRRGGHHHH WHATTHEHELLISGOINGON???!!! with a hint of Jazz” a style. They were called Death Metal, and we went by with that definition.
This time around, well... let me just say that if Death Metal were found dead in an alleyway with its pants down, Cranial Incisored would have been the lead suspect. Lipan’s Kinetic is what you get when System Of A Down and The Dillinger Escape Plan have a baby and it’s born inside out and is then left in a saxophone for too long. After a rather soothing 30 seconds, the listener is assaulted by an onslaught of jazzy, mathy, brutal, confusing whatthefuckery. The concept of genres doesn’t really apply to these guys’ music, but it’s still recognizable as Cranial Incisored, much like a serial killer leaves a signature on their victim. To be honest, I’ll have to say that this album actually affirms Cranial Incisored’s style instead of changing it, but it’s still quite a shock on the listener’s part finding out that these guys were as Death Metal as a bald person is a Segway all along.
The original unusual style of extremely memorable wankery presented on the debut is now fused with everything that would fit in, which turns out to be quite a lot, all topped off by the always welcome yapping of the vocalist. And all the ground explored on Lipan’s Kinetic means that this time it’s easy to tell the songs apart. Sort of. And I might risk saying that this is one of those cases when you have a very weird album that is easy to listen to. You don’t need to concentrate all the time to know what’s going on and actually get some enjoyment out of the experience. In fact, most of the time that I spent listening to this sophomore I didn’t know what was going on, but enjoyed the music anyway. I must say, though, that what saves this album is that it is really fun and enjoyable, because song-wise the tracks only make sense to one’s neck.
Lipan’s Kinetic wouldn’t be a completely crazy endeavor if the craziness weren’t evenly spread through all aspects of it, so it is evenly spread. Some of the only lyrics I could distinguish were from the song “It’s~”, and they were “Why, where’s your car? Why, where’s my car? Where is our car?”. And the songs themselves are in a very strange order: The album begins to show more jazz and folk influences as it progresses and then all of a sudden it turns into a trilogy of noise remixes that seem like an appropriate musical depiction of one’s brain after listening through the 20-something minutes of material. That is one thing I didn’t like about the album, that it was very short. Sure, I’m already used to 20-something minute releases being called full-lengths and all, but this one is just tiny. I really wouldn’t mind having my mind raped for another 5 minutes or so. Also, like I said, the tracks don’t really make much sense in terms of structure. There are dynamics in here, but they don’t seem like the real thing. There are changes in dynamics, but there isn’t all that much movement. The guys go from one thing to the other without any kind of explanation to how they got there. There are sometimes a few subtle hints, but they don’t really seem enough. All in all though, Lipan’s Kinetic is like the best seizure you’ll ever have.
Standout tracks:
Paradox Of Paradoxical Paradigm
Slossosynthesis
Friday I’m In Love (the Cure cover)
Double Talking Jive
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