Customer Reviews

Pigs of the Roman Empire

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I'm not a big fan of collaborations in general and some of Lustmord's previous collaborations have been rather disappointing. But this is fascinating stuff.

For some reason, even though I'm no stranger to alternative guitar rock at all, the Melvins have completely and utterly passed me by. I'd never heard of them before til now. I'm not sure why that is - just one of those quirks of nature I guess.

Lustmord, however, I have been following since Paradise Disowned (87) and Heresy (90) came out, and have been a big, big fan of his voluminous, cavernous soundscapes ever since. Nonetheless, not being a fan of collaborations generally, I didn't rush out to buy this album when it came out. For one thing, what research I did do on the Melvins didn't make it seem like the outcome would be that promising...

Now that I have acquired it, I find myself putting it on rotation over and over though. What's the attraction? It's actually much easier to pick the album's faults than articulate why notwithstanding I like it so very much.

The album is often unfocussed, in places (especially in the title track) downright messy, sounding more like an unhypothesized experiment, or a competition to see who can make the most noise than a well researched project. In others, such as between "III" and "The Bloated Pope" it comes across as more of a "vs." project - with no evidence of collaboration at all. The first track ("III") is obviously wholly by Lustmord and gives way to the second ("The Bloated Pope"), obviously wholly by the Melvins.

But as I keep listening, the idea of the Melvins and Lustmord seems more and more like a really good idea. Towards halfway through, Lustmord's threatening drones blend in more and more comfortably with the Melvins' guitar work.

By track 8 ("Idolatrous Apostate"), the coalescence of two distinct musical forms becomes downright...well...I didn't think music could ever sound so dark but bizarrely appealing at the same time.

There's something 'otherworldishly' and frighteningly romanesque about this penultimate track, with its menacing guitar licks and demoniacal vocal grating that disintegrates into pure satanic distortion, and it's almost like it represents the culmination of the creative effort, as if the album tracks a diachronic movement. Rather like watching "The Exorcist", it's strangely compelling.

In any case, I highly recommend this to anyone who wants something really....well, original is the perfect word here.

Funny that their last record was called hostile ambient takeover, this one is a total hostile ambient takeover. I can't think of any band ever, that has this much steam after 20 years. The Melvins continue to surpass and have still never repeated themselves.

The merging of rock-like and electronica-like forms seems totally natural here; a truly great match-up. If you're looking for something you've never heard before, pick this up now.

...as per usual. I haven't heard Melvins come up with such odd and sinister soundscapes since "Honky." Quite otherworldly, yet catchy at times ...in that Melvins way. The spacious mood pieces are especially good, and, aside from funky mid-paced "The Bloated Pope," surpass the more up-tempo, mechanical feeling jams. The only thing lacking here was a track where they overwhelm with one of their insanely slow and heavy brontosaurian trademark riffs. I was thinking the title track was going to eventually lean in that direction, but no such luck. Still, if you like that unique Melvins {and Lustmord} strangeness, this one won't disappoint. Sometimes, late at night, I enjoy putting on a movie, be it artsy/indie, or mainstream - often to more comical results - turn the TV volume down, and plug something like this in as a surrogate soundtrack. Nifty.

when i heard 'the bloated pope' a few months ago i assumed that the whole cd would be rockin' melvins w/the requisite killer drums and guitar. it turns out that Lustmord has had a much heavier hand in the production of this album than the killer 'bloated pope' would make it appear. much of this album consists of 'ambient' noise and anyone looking for ONLY killer-rocking melvins stuff will be surprised. it's an eclectic release. it reminds me of 'honky': several killer metal tracks and lots of spooky weirdness on the other tracks. this cd would be best experienced in an altered state.

I know, I know, Melvins's music is hard to understand. Really hard for the average listener to understand the meaning of a record like this one. I must confess that even I have thought that this release was just noise after the first listening. But after becoming a bit more intimate with this I've finally made up my mind and thought it was a work of art. You may not agree, but this CD has Melvins at their best with unique ambient music mixed well with grunge + sludge + avant garde/new age.

A hell of a trip. Like every Melvins release (except those strange EPs with people talking and stuff they release from time to time) this is a masterpiece. Whether you're a lost grunge soul or a Black Sabbath lover or a Kitaro sympathetic guy and appreciate weird albums like Fantomas's Delirium Cordia you'll have a lot of good stuff here. Lots of excellent stuff. And believe me: after a few spins the title song (which is more than 20 minutes long) will grow on you for sure. Just take time and relax without expecting 4 minutes straight-forward rock songs and enjoy the ride.

One of the greatest releases of 2004! Very unique and artistically beautiful.

Creepy, witty and crazy. Listen to it and get ready to spill your brains all over the floor.

the title explains it all.some tracks take several minutes to churn into a recognizable melvins aura,and that's a very good thing!this is like the "bootlicker" album on ludes.if you like this one definatly check out the ambient works of robert rich and steve roach as well!the death cube k albums would also compliment this release well!

I LOVE this album! Lustmord and the Melvins together is weird, but COOL. Ambient as you can imagine, but with Melvins crazy, muddy guitars and some howl. Lustmord creates some very interesting sounds. This album is NOT for someone wanting to hear "regular" Melvins song structure. This is a must-have CD!

Hostile Ambient Takeover was great, but had a few moments that reminded me of other Melvins albums, e.g. Bullhead, Houdini, Maggot. This one is more unapologetically forward-looking, like Honky, my favorite Melvins release. You can always expect something weird from Melvins, but this is the most immediately gratifying Melvins I've heard in years, while at the same time being unfathomably obtuse and strange. I've seen them six times, and every time, the energy is shattering while the surprise level is very high. This album lives up to that and then some. Another high-quality release from Ipecac. GET VENOMOUS CONCEPT, TOO. It's the best old-school hardcore record since the early eighties.

I just drove from Portland, OR to Topeka, KS, and i picked this up right before I hit the road and played it at night. It's scary and rockin all at the same time.
It's that good.
Best Melvins album In a long time.