Bone
Dance- self titled LP review
What a phenomenal piece of work
crafted here- this has become one of m yfavorite go-to records for all-around
situations: Angry, tired, productive,
bored, you name it. Bone Dance’s
self-titled record fits ‘em all. For a
while, this band had left me feeling the need for more- their CDEP only has
three songs, and the split LP they released with two other bands only had
two. Not much to go on, sad to say. However, this record does more than whet the
appetite- this is the gift that keeps on giving.
Some albums try to genre-bend and
mix multiple different kinds of sound into one, relatively unique one- most
don’t do well at it, but this record does that and more. Mixing hardcore, metal, crust, and noise
music, this is pretty fucking unique, sound-wise. The guitars rings of groove metal and heavy
hardcore riffs, the bass is clear and crunchy, the drums easily and seamlessly
transition from fast to slow to medium and right back to fast, and the vocals,
though cacophonous, are not indistinguishable from the words he utters. This band knows just what they are doing, and
despite being very mad at the world, retain their lyrical intellect and
complexity.
The albums kicks off with
“Comfort”, and the chaotic, brutish, raw vocal “Wait your turn to become
NOTHING!” as the guitar growls on in rather loudly to roar the song off to a
brutal start, maintaining the force throughout, and the intro line periodically
being recited, as though to drill it into one’s mind. “Burnout” and “Conniver” creek in the doorway
with creepy curst-influenced hardcore tunes filled with vigor and an
unquestionable sincerity to them. As
“Conniver” ends, the sickest, most mind-blowingly psychotic riff comes
in; it’s as though a mosh pit o murder massacre was in mind when it was
conceived. This riff will make one lose
their mind and all self-control- that’s how powerful that 10-second (or so)
riff is. “Writhing in Ecstasy” continues
to pound away in blissful riffage, never to relent or relinquish a great degree
of the brutality the intro riff possesses.
“White Guilt” is a layer piece, one successfully delivering the shorter
blasts to the end of the first side of the record with a sinister symphony not
quite of epic proportions, but perhaps not far from it, either.
The second side begins with “West”,
which barrels through with the same sonic intensity as the first song- an
appropriate place to put such a punishing song.
The song drags on for a while, enough time for the point of the song to
get embedded as a seed, to blossom or become a blemish as the listener adapts
to it. “Children Having Children” and
“Barren” are a sad but oddly optimistic (at least sonically- the lyrics are a
different matter entirely) set of tales, one of which is about teenage
pregnancy and how rampant it has grown to be (honestly- even Boise, Idaho must
not have a lot going on to encourage kids to be knowledgeable and pragmatic
about sex). Someone had to say it, and
I’m glad it was a band as angrily brutal but provokingly thoughtful as Bone
Dance to say it. “The Skinny” begins as
many of the other songs on the record do, but this is one… this one ends with a
raspy, helpless, insane catcall of “Regret!” that is at times at times alternated
with a despondent, high-pitched shriek of the same word- a great ending. Finally, “Feral” closes out the album, and
this feels the heaviest and most complex of all the songs on this record, and
also happens to be the longest of them all as well, at just over five
minutes. In that relatively long period
of time, the band never gets boring or cliché, or even mediocre. This song rips just like the rest of ‘em.
As high a regard as I do hold
“Master of Reality”, this is my new go-to record for every high, low, middle,
and breathing moment of life. Not only
one of my favorite records of 2012, this might just be one of my most notable
and favorite records of all-time. Time
will tell, but I’m not bored yet- I hope I never am.
-Aunty Social
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