Album Review: Violent Opposition - Transcendent (2015) - Guest Feature by Nikolay Chuvikov (Moscow Meltdown)
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| Picture Credit: Violent Opposition |
Violent Opposition — Transcendent (2015)
Grindcore / Jazzcore
USA
Violent Opposition band is an obvious result of
the various musical tastes of its members. So these guys are fans of
both classic experimental music a la Frank Zappa and alternative oddities like
Mr. Bungle, as well as insanely extreme metal genres like grindcore and
fastcore. Yes, You’ve read that correctly - their album includes
elements from all the above-mentioned manifestations of guitar activity, which
may seem like complete madness and... that's only because it is.
"Transcendent" grows out of a solitary confinement cell of an insane
asylum, in which for some reason not one patient was locked, but several at
once - so they could exchange different levels of insanity.
I can't even roughly describe everything that happens on this album - each
new song (and there are 23 of them) throws something new and unexpected towards
the listener. There are no boundaries and rules - as they say, "nothing is
true, everything is permitted." And if on "Dr. Evil Pays Well"
you can feel the obvious influence of hardcore punk, then already on "The
Smarter They Come, The Harder They Fall" you can hear the echoes of
Fantomas-like avant-garde.
"Flee From Terror To be Eaten By Lions" is almost a full-length grindcore, but only with incessant beat breaks and absolutely insane vocals. Yeah, jokes aside, but the vocalist is really going apeshit - however, at some moments I was even scared to listen to him, somehow involuntarily it seemed that a maniac who had escaped from a psychiatric hospital for insane criminals, who had about twenty dismembered, raped and eaten corpses on his account, stood behind the microphone stand. However, there is a certain charm in this: many people are attracted by crazy and inadequate characters (this applies not only to music - remember the Joker for example), so Violent Opposition is kinda "trendy".
It gets even more entertaining when the jazz intonations come in ... oh yeah, I'm not kidding. No, there are no wind instruments, but certain elements of this noble genre definitely slip through in some song segments. Their appearance is always unexpected and therefore is perceived as a real apocalypse, as if all musical madness suddenly disintegrated into microns and revealed creative adequacy. It happens at such moments that you begin to understand that this is not just a joke and not an attempt to shock the listener, but the musicians' madness has its own logic (and in this case I am quoting not J.K. Rowling, as many people think for some reason, but William Shakespeare). Although, of course, every reviewer admits that this music was not created for a mass audience.
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| Picture Credit: Violent Opposition |
The lyrics correspond to the musical content - at first glance it seems completely inadequate (which can only be judged by the names - how do you like "Flee From Terror To Be Eaten By Lions"?), But in fact it is filled with interesting ideas and acute social problems. The musicians themselves describe it like this: "Lyrics have mostly been a lot of self help shit, sociopolitical, observations of behavior and culture ..." ).
"Transcendent" pleases with its madness, unpredictability and bursts
of chaotic colors. Violent Opposition knows how to play fast and energetic
music, as well as create an intense and impressive wall of sound. At the same
time, their short tracks contain elements of improvisation, avant-garde and
even such a phenomenon as Rock In Opposition. Zappa would definitely be pleased
listening to these psychiatric patients on their imminent tour ...
Reviewed by
Nikolay Chuvikov
Translated
by Dmitriy Churilov
Links:
https://violentopposition.bandcamp.com/album/violent-opposition-transcendent
https://open.spotify.com/artist/2sVCZpmIrm0uW6GQryYBYJ?si=zyGhj-gNQumfgdGytfQMvA
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