Albums That Will F*ck Your Face Off in 2013: The Body’s Collaborations with Krieg and Thou
The Body/Krieg
TBA
Release date — TBA
The Body/Thou
TBA (At A Loss/Vinyl Rites)
Release date — TBA
There’s heaviness. There’s brutality. Then there’s The Body. Having formed in Little Rock, AR in 1999, the doom duo toiled in obscurity until 2010, when At A Loss released their breakout record, All the Waters of the Earth Turn to Blood. Good god, that record was fucked up. It wasn’t just the guitar of Chip King, whose tone sounded like an agoraphobic Stephen O’Malley. It wasn’t just the spliced samples of Montana cultists speaking in tongues, King’s piercing wails, the waves of industrial noise, or the fact that the album starts with The Assembly of Light Choir singing for seven minutes before anything remotely “metal” comes in. It was that these all coexisted, cohered, and brought together something truly frightening. Since the release of Blood, they’ve changed homes twice, bouncing from Providence, RI to Greensboro, NC, and from there to Portland. Their sole release in 2012 was The Cold, Suffocating Dark Goes On Forever, And We Are Alone, a limited EP sold when they toured with previous collaborators Braveyoung and the aforementioned Assembly of Light Choir. Any news of new material from the duo is welcome.
In December, Neill “Imperial” Jameson, mastermind of the black metal project Krieg, posted on the band’s Facebook that he would be working with The Body on a collaboration album. Imperial takes black metal to uncomfortable places, from the walls of blasts that comprise Destruction Ritual to the all-out noise barrage of Patrick Bateman (yes, it’s based on Genesis’ #1 serial-killer fan Patrick Bateman from Bret Easton Ellis’ American Psycho) to the bleakly psychedelic Blue Miasma. According to The Body’s drummer Lee Buford, the recording for this collaboration will begin in the spring at Providence’s Machines With Magnets, where Blood was recorded. King’s shrieks could easy fit on a black metal record, so there’s faith he’ll mesh with Imperial. This will be a real anti-social racket for sure.
The Body were also down in New Orleans recently recording another joint production, this time with Thou, which is as exciting of a prospect as the Krieg collaboration. Thou bring that sludge that Louisiana’s known for, but they’ve got delicacy and social insight many of their peers lack. The breakdown at the end of “An Age Imprisoned” will overcome even the most Robbins-esque of spirits. Buford confirmed that they did three originals and a cover, and with both bands’ track records with covers, it should be really interesting what they pull out. These country boys did Body Count’s “Cop Killer” justice, and they re-imagined Sinead O’Connor’s “Black Boys on Mopeds” as a droney, dimly-lit séance. They even made Crass’ “Do They Owe Us a Living” listenable! Thou released a whole EP of Sabbath covers, Through The Empires of Eternal Void, made Soundgarden’s “4th of July” even heavier, and sludged out the already fairly sludgy “Well Fed Fuck” by Born Against.
Should The Body tour behind any of these releases, bring every bit of fortitude you’ve got. It won’t be enough. When it comes to sheer physical heaviness, few can even come close to them. The Body’s low end breaks you apart, then rebuilds you more resilient. Like many doom bands, they sound best in narrow spaces, so don’t be afraid to get cramped.
