CALIGULA is a very impressive, complete work. Blending classical, noise and metal, it creates an album with a clear and powerful vision.

When an album works so well as a singular piece, picking a single track always seems a little silly. But if you were to condense the ideas and themes into a single track it would probably take the form of “MAY FAILURE BE YOUR NOOSE”.

The track starts with classical piano and vocals that portray an abusive and suffocating relationship. Apart from the content of the lyrics, the track initially appears to follow a fairly traditional sound, with large, lush reverb, similar to classical music. But that quickly changes with the tracks first left turn.

A massive distorted bass line rips and tears its way into the sound stage, as if a portal to hell is opening right in the middle of the performance. At the 2 minute mark, distorted screams push the bass away along with the large reverb, and we are offered a brief and intimate respite before hell opens up and takes the whole track with it under massive explosive percussion and distorted screams.

It’s a bold, brave and outlandish sound that pays off in every respect. “MAY FAILURE BE YOUR NOOSE” is a great place to start but it shouldn’t be the end of your journey.

CALIGULA is shaping up to be a must for my end of year list.

Bandcamp:

TOTW Playlist: