Sometimes you just get something come along that knocks you off balance. It’s fair to say that Kunvuk’s ‘Immute:Jackals’ has done just that. They promise much from their press releases; technical groove metal certainly sounds promising, but then somewhere else I read they describe themselves as ‘homeless metal’. What kind of homeless metal? Homeless in that you can’t be categorized into any specific genre, or homeless as in a bunch of talentless drunk tramps that have broken into a recording studio?
Their poorly received 3 track EP ‘The Gone Mekanik Anticipation Demonstration’ stands as their only release prior to ‘Immute:Jackals’, so it comes as a bit of a surprise when you see just how much effort has gone into the packaging, a gatefold double DVD case with some…interesting…artwork. It’s clear to see that a lot of time and money has been spent investing in these guys. So, that’ll be Light of Damnation Records then, a record label owned by…Kunvuk. Slipping the CD into the player and selecting track 1 of this mammoth 17 track double disc effort is therefore done with some trepidation as I await confirmation of my growing suspicions. But wait, maybe I was wrong. Interesting blastbeats, strong chugging guitar, reasonably inventive too; but just as I was ready to let my guard down and chastise myself for judging them before I’d heard them, the vocals kicked in, and suddenly I understood the concept of ‘homeless metal’. A bunch of incomprehensible shouty, wailing tosspots sounding like they’ve just been let off the special bus and who have trodden on a lego brick in bare feet.
I consider myself quite a patient and tolerant man. I once sat through an entire performance of the live musical version of Lord of the Rings in order to impress a lady. Everybody has their limits though, and this is clearly mine. I have attempted on five or six occasions now to listen to ‘Immute:Jackals’ in its entirety, and I have failed every time. Imagine System of a Down jamming with Devin Townsend and The Dillinger Escape Plan, and then strip away any evidence of any talent, cohesive songwriting ability, throw a bunch of money at it and you get this. I do not say this lightly. This album is unlistenable. The song titles are often as incomprehensible as the music itself, with such meaningless and pretentious efforts as ‘Jackals Feeding Children Feeding Buildings’, and ‘Where Orchidectomy and Mastitis Street Meet Is Why I Will Die’.
I genuinely feel bad for them, reading their press releases stating that the album is finished and that it’s all their own work. It’s a statement delivered with all the pride of the beaming toddler, tottering over to you with their potty full of their own filth, holding it out for your inspection and awaiting your gushing praise, applause and confirmation of just how clever they are. In ‘Immute:Jackals’, Kunvuk are proudly offering us their potty, and as with the child, the contents are shit. Can we not applaud them on this occasion though please, as I suspect it may just encourage them.
http://WWW.MySpace.com/kunvukmekanikkult
