CRUSTCAKE PICKS - NEW CAKE IN THE OVEN: CODE'S RESPLENDENT GROTESQUE

by Van Damned (ATX)

Download: Code - "The Rattle of Black Teeth" [MP3]

It's worth noting that during the latter part of this decade, all major metal genres saw a significant resurgence in bands who went beyond looking to the past for inspiration and straight up ripped it off. Thrash, death, tech-death, prog, trad: without exception, each saw increased sales across the board and (as a fortunate byproduct) dusty, long-forgotten bands saw new and untapped markets to reach. All except black metal. What makes it worth noting is the fact that black metal, more than any other, is rooted to its bedrock in orthodoxy, tradition, ritual and retrogression. So when dyed-in-the-wool black metal bands begin messing around outside of accepted norms, as more noteworthy bands are doing this decade, people start gathering in the wings to watch the ensuing spectacle.

Norway's Dødheimsgard is among the bold few who stepped beyond the pale early on into uncharted (and often experimental) waters. The criminally-overlooked, blackened-industrial avant-guardists have counted members of no less seminal (and kvlt) bands than Darkthrone, Ulver, Aura Noir and Satyricon among its ranks and yet continue to push as many boundaries as they do buttons. Part of this has to do with the addition of British vocal acrobat Matthew McNerney, aka Kvohst. There's a righteous few people who compare to Mike Patton in terms of versatility, reach and technical competency and Kvohst is one of them. Though he appeared only on 2007's Supervillain Outcast, Kvohst, together with DHG multi-instrumentalist Vicontik, left an indelible mark on the solidifying experimental black metal scene.



As far back as 2002, Viktonik had approached Kvohst (ex-Void) to work on a new project with then-DHG guitarist Aort. The resulting demo, Neurotransmissions: Amplified Thought Chemistry, brought the nascent Code to the attention of Spikefarm Records, who released 2005's Nouveau Gloaming. Now Vicontik, Aort and Kvohst are back, this time with drummer-about-town Adrian Erlandsson (Paradise Lost, Brujeria, ex-At the Gates, Cradle of Filth), on this year's Resplendent Grotesque (Tabu), about which Show No Mercy's Brandon Stosuy labeled "one of the year's best." Boy is he ever right. The eight-song, 35-minute platter is a benchmark in progressive, experimental black metal and should be required listening for all like-minded 'heads from here on out. Testament to the band's genius is Resplendent's timing and pacing. The album's longest song doesn't quite reach the six-minute mark and yet each billows and bulldozes like a high-dollar HBO epic miniseries. By including clean singing, acoustic passages, gang chants, jackhammer D-beats, labyrinthine melodies, dissonant chordage, proggy time signatures and wanky solos, Code have pushed black metal into an arena closer to Opeth's Scandi-deathprog than anything by fellow Weejie-blizzard beasts Nattefrost (or Immortal, for that matter.) Resplendent Grotesque is, quite simply, essential.

If you live in in Germany, France, Austria or Switzerland, you can catch Code live through September and October (with Borknagar!) The rest of us will just have to wait.