Review Summary: Sean Bonnette and the gang stare into the void once more with astonishing results.
For all of Christmas Island's successes, there was a feeling amongst the dedicated AJJ fanbase that the record fell short of expectations, after the unlikely success of the band's critically-acclaimed magnum opus, Knife Man. The shortcomings of Christmas Island were painfully obvious after a few listens: a serious pacing issue plagued the second quarter, the punk-influence had been scaled down significantly and the lyrics were unusually repetitive for a band renowned for their unique manipulation of language. This time around though, AJJ have righted all these wrongs and produced what may well prove to be the best record of their career.
What becomes immediately apparent with this record is that the band are no longer holding back musically or lyrically. The album roars into action with some short, sharp shocks to the system, courtesy of loud, distorted guitars and some brutal one liners (indeed, within the opening 12 minutes of the record, Sean already boasts that he has set a baby on fire, jumped on someone like a trampoline and received a hammer-smashed face - no guessing which band they might be referencing there!). Elsewhere on the record, the excellent “Terrifyer” romps by at a frenetic tempo, aided by a surprisingly admirable bit of shredding.
Sean Bonnette also amps up his notoriously nihilistic approach to writing lyrics with more deathly imagery than ever before, balanced with his typically warped sense of humour. The charming epilogue “When I'm A Dead Boy” sees him stating the exact dimensions of his future memorial bench, whilst the ominous finality of lead single “Goodbye, Oh Goodbye” jumps between suicidal contemplation and humorous childhood memories of hiding in bed to avoid going to church. The nihilism climaxes with the outstanding “Small Red Boy”, a surrealist folk song, in which the protagonist meets the devil and raises him as his own, before being engulfed by the devil and succumbing to the darkness too. The track stands out as the most ambitious track the band have written to date, due to the impressive running time and inspired use of dynamics, which help to create an epic finale to an outstanding record.
However, the innovation stretches beyond “Small Red Boy” and is also apparent across the entirety of the record. “No More Shame, No More Fear, No More Dread” initially starts out as a piano-led ballad, before exploding into a triumphant full-band number, which is completed by a stirring cello melody, and “Junkie Church” evidences AJJ can even write a sincere love song when they put their minds to it. Although tracks such as “American Garbage” and “My Brain is a Human Body” show that the experimentation does not always pay off (the synth is a little too garish in the former and the latter proves too lo-fi for its own good), it is exciting to see a band still pushing boundaries 12 years into their career.
When it comes to writing a sixth album in a band's career, it is all too easy to fall into autopilot mode. However, AJJ show no signs of slowing down with The Bible 2 and have created another nihilistic masterpiece with more than enough variety to show the band still have something to prove. Bravo chaps, onward to album number 7!
