New Band: Locrian

Also seen on Heavy Planet: 

I was given Locrian's latest, The Crystal World, by Reg of Heavy Planet, in his attempt to pander to my musical tastes (be that doom, stoner, or progressive) and I thank him for the thought. Unfortunately I cannot thank him for introducing me to this band. While Ed over at Doommantia could not get over how much he loved this album, I have to strongly disagree and focus on my view of this...music.

You see, Locrian does not produce what I would call 'music,' instead opting for avant-garde/industrial feedback-loop/ambient noise. Their first track, "Triumph Of Elimination," is nothing but feedback and white noise with the occasional note thrown in. I thought it was just an odd intro song, but no, it set the mood for the rest of the album. The rest of the songs weren't as bad as that, some had sections that seemed to have a general (if very loose) rhythm, with the title track being the best of the bunch, but even that was just barely. The whole album seemed like an experiment in sound and effects, and how much they could get away with and still have the album published. I know this is their third album, and I don't know if the rest of their releases are of this fashion, but there is no way I'd ever pay for this mess, and I have no idea how a record company would fund such drivel. There may be a market for this, I guess for fans of the evolution of the garage rock of the 90s, but I can't see it.

The Crystal World is supposed to be a double album release, and because my promo copy was only of the first disc, I was contemplating getting the second for the full sound. I am quite glad now that I did not waste the time and energy in tracking it down. Based from the reviews I read and the album artwork (it is sweet), I was looking forward to hearing Locrian's work. Now I just feel cheated, like a hooker whose John has run out of the hotel room without paying and my pimp is going to hold me responsible. Music is my pimp, and he expects something good.