Review Summary: You're allowed to not get it.
Bruce Lamont is best known for his work with
Yakuza. All you need to remember about Yakuza is that they're not a one-trick pony because that's all Bruce's solo album has in common with Yakuza. The metal, prog-rock and jazz of Yakuza have all been replaced on Feral Songs for the Epic Decline with is a mix of singer-songwriter, drone, folk, sax and industrial noise.
The record starts of beautiful and calm with guitar and voice. A simple droning rhythm which slowly turns into a mantra. After 8 minutes it suddenly goes quiet and percussion steps in and the build up starts over again.
If you think you've got this record figured out after song one you're wrong. Minimalistic-drone-folk is what comes to mind when you hear a song like The Epic Decline, which could have easily been on a WovenHand record. The references to folk, WovenHand or even Tomahawk's Anonymous record also emerge on songs like Year without Summer and 2 then the 3.
But on other songs Bruce takes a drastic turn. Although drone is a word that will come up throughout the entire record the singer-songwriter elements disappear on songs like The Book of the Law (noise) and Disgruntled Employer (jazzy sax-drone). Eventhough Deconstructing self-destruction starts with a folky guitar sound it quickly turns into black-metal influenced noise.
Overall this is a great record, but it isn't for everyone. The dark and brouding nature of this record make it a great experience for everyone who likes bands like WovenHand, Sunn O))), Yakuza and Tomahawk.
