Merrimack - Grey Rigorism
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France’s Merrimack aren’t that old. They formed in the mid-’90s and saw sporadic action until three albums in the ’00s. But on Grey Rigorism [Moribund/Osmose, 2009], they’ve matured. In black metal, “maturation” is hazardous. It usually involves slicker production and signing to bigger labels. Part of black metal’s appeal was its youth — kids who didn’t know whether to praise Satan or Odin; who had crappy equipment and crappier musicianship; and whose hormones found expression in chaos. Now instead of Frankensteined hybrids of punk and metal, we have clones.
Until now, these included Merrimack. But the band has learned that relentlessness does not equal impact. Grey Rigorism has actual songs with actual riffs, space, and variation. Especially prominent is the “dissonant jangles + midpaced marches” formula of compatriots Deathspell Omega, Glorior Belli, and Obscurus Advocam. Dissonant jangles juxtapose notes that technically shouldn’t be juxtaposed, then let them thrum in ringing conflict. Midpaced marches make that conflict regular. In a world of Western tonal music, this approach is unsettling. Instead of resolving tension, it revels in it. It hammers home “wrong” so much, it becomes the new right.
But compositional and tonal dynamics don’t necessarily yield textural dynamics. Tore Stjerna’s production is clean and punchy, yet swathed in sheets of sound. Grey Rigorism is like a stainless steel blanket. It’s forbidding; only after several weeks could I get into it. Now that I’m “into” it, I’m not particularly inclined to get “out of” it. It’s cold, calculating, and addictive. Its passion is verbal, not musical. The lyrics address Satan with Hebrew terminology: “Adonai, Hear this soul that sings your glory. These knees are made for kneeling and that is just what they do, so grant Thy favors to this son of Thine.” (“These knees are made for kneeling”??? What happened to “No gods, no masters”?) It’s strange to hear black metal so grown up. Given its feral origins, it’s almost unrecognizable now.
Buy:
Amazon
Relapse
The End
Moribund
Merrimack tour the US in Nov/Dec alongside Marduk. See dates here.
