THE SKINS OF METAL & PROG, TURNED INSIDE-OUT

The process of gearing up for the recent Blind Idiot God shows got a friend and me talking about heavy instrumental bands of days gone by. Before I could say anything like Spastic Ink or the Champs, he took the liberty of exclaiming, "I fucking hate metal. I also fucking hate prog." Well then. There you have it. Then he slipped this one "What I love is Gore."

That was initially surprising since that pretty much forgotten and not really lamented Dutch band have elements of both metal and prog. The guitars are mean and aggressive. The drums are punishing and relentless. The tracks are often of epic length and daunting complexity. At the same time, the band subverts both metal and prog. While the guitars are, indeed, strong and forceful, they do not really set themselves up in positions to glory in that strength. The riffs rarely repeat, nor do they even identify themselves. They chug and slash and tear and crash but rarely do they breathe and rarely still do they leave space for an anthem. The playing shifts constantly, with no where to plant your feet, nowhere to raise your arms and metal hands. Here, the monolithic wall of riffs seems more intended to drown or suffocate you than to help you attain any catharsis.

The same goes for the way Gore stands prog on its head. As per most classic prog, Gore's compositions are often very long, in the 15-25 minute range. Also in line with much prog rock, the compositional complexity and instrumental virtuosity are both at very high levels, by rock standards. But unlike the more symphonic structures favored by traditional prog, with their emotional peaks, valleys and overall narratives, Gore tends to play at one, dense dynamic level: a thick but harmonically rich guitar tempest with a million chordal shifts and pummeling rhythm, but little, discernable melodic development. Gore is not looking for highs and lows to take you on a journey as much as build a swirling space in which the listener can either asphyxiate or lose themself through the rabbit hole. I suppose an angry, three-piece, mid period King Crimson trying to play the first three Swans albums might sound something like this.

Apropos of nothing, while Gore were an instrumental band, they had lyric sheets that would be covered with wall-to-wall text, in small type. Go figure.

Considering that Gore's best work was done in the late 80s, well before Slint, Rodan, Don Caballero, Pelican, et al the band may deserve credit as the first, heavy, post-rock band. But not that many people ever heard Gore and, those that did often didn't like them. It was the time of thrash and death, the time of rave, the time of the Pixies. With the possible exception of a Blind Idiot God here or there, no one was playing music like this back then. That doesn't necessarily make Gore's music more likeable, or even influential. But it does make them adventurous, original and admirable.

GORE -- The Breeding/Liefde (from Wrede/The Cruel Peace, 1988)

The most dynamic and accessible track from their masterwork, the double-album, Wrede/The Cruel Peace. Earlier work was basically instrumental hard core while later work was thug metal faux-soundtrack stuff, complete with spoken word. This is where they hit their inverted metal and prog genius.

For biographical info on Gore, click here.