Review Summary: Industrial black-metal meets trip-hop?
The avant-garde tag is very broad. It basically means to push the boundaries of the norm. So really anything that is "different" can be considered as avant-garde. Lux Occulta have always been considered somewhat different, but with the release of "The Mother And The Enemy", Lux have dived right into a proverbial sea of the term. Not only have they changed their sound, but they have added a whole new genre to it.
Line-up:
Vocals - Jarosław "Jaro.Slav" Szubrycht
Keyboards - Jerzy "U'reck" Głód
Lead Guitar - Wacław "Vogg" Kiełtyka
Rhythm Guitar - "Peter"
Bass - Marcin "Martin" Rygiel
Drums - "Kriss"
Guest Vocals - India Czajkowska
This being the second release with this line-up, one wouldn't expect too much of a change from "My Guardian Anger", but from the very beginning of "The Mother" those expectations are crushed. Gone are the glorious symphonics that were very present in previous releases. There is nothing epic about this album in the slightest. It's bleak and uncomfortable. They've added an industrial element that wasn't previously there, and have gone ahead and thrown a few trip-hop tracks in to really mess with you.
The first three tracks after the intro are just scathing and nasty. They showcase a revamped heavy sound for Lux. Abrasive, bleak, and odd are words that come to mind when describing the "metal" tracks from "The Mother". With the grandiose symphonics substituted with hyper-industrial sounds, the music changes completely into something unlike anything they've ever done. The guitar riffs are just nasty and the drumming is maniacal. The bass is prominent in the lower registers, but for the most part any mid-ranged bass is inaudible. I believe this is what gives it that bleak feel.
Just after you finish listening to track four, and as soon as you start to think this is the ugliest and one of the weirdest albums you've ever heard. You get to track five. "Yet Another Armageddon". You're greeted by the beautiful voice of India Czajkowska. Singing, in a Fiona Apple-esque fashion, "This is the first day of our last days. No one cares, no one cares, no one cares. Anymore." A sweet trip-hop groove ensues and all of a sudden you're in a totally different place than you were a minute ago. A composer, singer, and model from Poland, India contributed her talents to three tracks on "The Mother and the Enemy". And it turns out that they're some of the best tracks on this album. "Yet Another Armageddon" is the best of the three in my opinion, but "Midnight Crisis" and "Breathe Out" are really great as well.
Then there are the tracks "Gambit" and "Pied Piper". "Gambit" is basically one monotonous guitar riff, for about six minutes, with some weird, random vocals and industrial sounds. I hate it. "Pied Piper" starts out as a pretty good song. Much like the other metal songs on here. But after about four minutes, it changes into something that made me uncomfortable. That sound, OH MY GOD!, that SOUND!
All in all, Lux Occulta's "The Mother and the Enemy" is a great listen. You get four nasty industrial black-metal songs, three great trip-hop tracks, one song that'll piss you off, one song that'll make you feel uncomfortable as ***, and the intro. If Lux Occulta aren't pushing the limits of the metal genre, then they are at least pushing their own limits right out of a fortieth story window.
