Babylon Mystery Orchestra
Axis of Evil
Band: Babylon Mystery Orchestra BUY NOW!
|
It is not often that we come across an artist with views as clearly expressed as those of Sidney Allen Johnson, sole member of controversial hard rock/heavy metal band Babylon Mystery Orchestra. Without even touching on the music I could write for pages about the intense lyrics which dominate this album and provoke inevitable response. Though I do not agree with the views of this highly intellectual man, I do however regard him with a slim amount of esteem for having the guts to portray his views, however xenophobic, with the help of his music.
Babylon Mystery Orchestra have been accused of being homophobic and racist and I certainty couldn’t disagree with either of those statements; the lyrics are shocking and offensive, whatever your angle! Sidney himself claims that the music in itself is created to emphasise the lyrics in an almost theatrical sense and he doesn’t lie! The impression given by the music is almost that of a political speech and this fact is hard to ignore. He warns, and I agree with him, against the buying of this album if you are looking for ‘self indulgent displays of musical prowess’, and he also adds an honest disclaimer that the views articulated are entirely his own, and that they are written with no regard for how they will be received. Great emphasis has been placed on writing the lyrics for this album, but it would be wrong to proclaim that this results in an album so obscure that it becomes inaccessible as the piece of musical genius that it is. He starts us off with a short introduction containing powerful speeches from Blair, Bush Jnr and Bill Clinton backed with a softly poetic piano accompaniment. This is very effective and sets a definitive and intriguing mood for the rest of the album, but as I heard the intro make way for the first true song of the album I felt a tinge of disappointment. After the clever build up, in my opinion this track earns itself the title of ‘worst on the album’, which is unfortunate considering the exciting atmosphere that the intro succeeded in setting. Thankfully, the third track, ‘Devilspawn’ recaptures the original stimulating texture that had seemingly disappeared during the course of its predecessor. A spookily prolonged tone fazes out into a grand combination of Black Label Society’s simplicity and raw heaviness, and Black Sabbaths distinctly unique and easily recognisable coarse guitar sound. While one of the most confrontational lyrically, my favourite track on the album is number 4, ‘Islam’. The creativity and range of styles used in this song are astounding and the main riff equals any I have heard from bands in the hard rock category in recent years. All of the songs are fantastic in a musical sense but the last song, to me, stands above the rest in this respect with the acoustic guitar technique complementing the harsh vocals followed by a rather striking guitar solo…all of this from one man! Overall…the intention of the album is to convey an extremely powerful and disturbing message, which is sad because musically, it is among the best and most original works I have ever heard. The album is not for the politically faint-hearted, and could very well challenge the listener’s ability to realize the quality of the music; but if you can push past the overlying racism...you will expose some of the most inimitable and impressive pieces of composition work that you will have ever experienced. Not for technical difficulty, not for the vocals, but for the way that the songs have been created to make the lyrics stand out above anything else in a way that I don’t believe we, as followers of the genre, have seen before. It is, unfortunately, an album of two ingredients. While the base of the cake tastes great on it’s own, the bitter icing severely impairs the entire experience. I would give it 9/10 for music, 1/10 for lyrics…in consequence I conclude that it is only fair to compromise these two marks equally and award 5/10 overall. Lewis Klein
|
|
|
