Meek Is Murder – “Onward EP”
Meek is murder. I hear a passage in the bible says, “The meek will inherit the world,” or maybe Dick Cheney said that. “The meek will inherit the world unless we kill them, for Christ-sakes, so let’s get each and every one of them.”
That’s how we spread democracy and freedom- by killing them. That way, once they’re dead, their surviving friends and families will like us and embrace our beliefs. (How ridiculous does that sound?)
War is the last resort and thankfully, war is now an outdated concept. Except in countries still living in the Middle Ages and of course, the United States.
But Meek Is Murder is a metal band. And they don’t sound ridiculous at all. Maybe a bit terrifying but their weapons of power are guitars not guns, drums not ammunition.
And their description of themselves as “whatever-core” is one of my favorite descriptions by a band ever. And it fits because all the right elements are there. They’ve got the metal sound, the hardcore vocals- the short, brutal songs under two minutes and the punk attitude of being concise, intense and true.
Sure, they have some tricky rhythms at times but all the playing is done, I think, to serve the song. And all the songs are hard, short daggers striking out and connecting into our hearts, minds and souls.
But now’s the time to find out how murderous this onslaught against your eardrums is and also, how appealing. Let’s give a listen.
“Upward” starts with some intense, screaming vocals that suggests to me, Minor Threat in a metal setting. The rhythms stop and go while a guitar screeches in the background like a fire alarm going off. And the flashing warning is- some serious metal hardcore is ready to rip your guts and your soul out through your eardrums and then ram them back in again. “Upward is a long way down/ Looking out into nothing…Losing what you never had to begin with/ You’re losing hold…it’s a long way down.” Some ricochet dissonant guitar lick repeats just increasing the volatile impact as the drummer beats the rhythm into delirious psychosis with glee. This is one great, brutal, true, song.
After a few drum beats and some ominous, chugging metal riffs,“Downward” starts with a moderate beat and a nice, little musical interlude going on. But once the vocals arrive, chairs are knocked over and all the dishes slide off the table crashing to the floor. “We rise/ Even though I’m kind of embarrassed/ And though we’re somewhat decayed/ Our hearts are fuller than ever/ On the floor.” The vocals crash sidelong into the music while the drums frantically try to restore order. Musical mayhem ensues in a revolving rhythm filled with bile and passion. Then a headbanging groove ascends with screaming guitar, a menacing riff and some vocal grunts to end this terrific, terrifyingly, impassioned tune.
After a short drums/guitar intro “Onward Towards A Red Horizon” jolts forth in a hardcore rhythm with the drums whacking away like an ax blade and the vocals vehemently emoting. “Lost our bodies/ killed our dream/ We broke our backs for dying scenes.” This song pushes ahead hard and strong until a sinister, metal tango leaps into action taking the song into a strange, new realm. “But we keep marching onward towards a red horizon.” With the guitar feeding back and chugging along the song ends like a fierce, crunching sucker punch to the soul.
“Foreword” starts with vocals and instruments almost immediately from the start with a clanging, hard sound like someone striking a large bell repeatedly. “Onward towards a vague holiday/ Before we rise we’re going down.” This song is the sound of metal being crunched in a compactor. “And failure is nothing compared to the ride/ Push on.” This is a powerful, intense shot of passion and guts mainlined into your heart and soul.
Lots of great tunes on this album even if it looks like they got their song titles from a remote control device or maybe, an old cassette player- Foreword, Upward, Downward.
This is the type of metal I can get behind easily. This is raw, powerful, true and hard music that perfectly fits the “whatever-core” nomenclature. It’s as vital and strong in whatever category you want to stick it in.
Maybe meek is murder but life is, too. “This life is killing me.” Yeah, living can seem harder than living but, as Alice Cooper says, you gotta “love it to death.”
And this music is life-fulfilling, I suppose. Now, what a corny notion that is!
How about we love the music we like, and you should like this music, I certainly do, and life can just go fuck itself.
While we, humbly, check out Meek Is Murder, deftly.
(Slimedog)
