There are certain genres of music that were never meant to ever be associated with each other, and, without a doubt, black metal and house are two of those. Despite this, The Soft Pink Truth decided to sell their souls to Satan and birth the unholy creation that is Why Do the Heathen Rage? In this album, The Soft Pink Truth (TSPT) covers several black metal classics (and some others) as experimental blackened house songs, and somehow, kind of makes it work (by the way, I added links to the originals where it says "[band] cover" so you can listen to both versions and compare them).
I keep saying "house," but I'm sure most people reading this blog don't know what that is, so here you go. House is a style of 80s techno club music, produced by DJs, which features drum machines, 4/4 beats, and off beat hi-hats; somewhat similar to disco. Despite this, house is much more electronic and minimalist than disco, and often has a mechanical, repetitive rhythm which isn't as common in disco. A lot of house songs are also mostly or completely instrumental, although this is not a requirement. This genre is also heavily associated with gay and black subcultures.
The Soft Pink Truth is a side project of Drew Daniel, one of the members of the experimental electronica duo, Matmos. Drew Daniel created The Soft Pink Truth on a bet from a friend, Matthew Herbert, that he couldn't create a house record. Besides Why Do the Heathen Rage? TSPT produced two original albums, and a punk cover album. TSPT's music is often weird, but interesting, with strange audio clips, out of place samples from other songs, and broken rhythms. Drew Daniel is also gay and sometimes includes includes aspects of gay culture in TSPT's music.
The album cover is an orgy of blood, gore, sex, and violence. Considering how this is attempting to mimic metal album covers, I this TSPT did a pretty good job, they even included an unreadable band logo, which I like (yes that pink-grey mess is the logo). However, considering that this is a black metal cover album, it's weird that they decided to go with more of a grindcore style album cover instead of a black metal style one (see examples of black metal and grindcore covers below). Black metal album covers tend to be mostly black or monochrome and a lot of times minimalistic, with satanic themes. On the other hand, grindcore albums tend to be busy and have extreme graphic and gory scenes. As you can see, the cover of this album is certainly busy, graphic, and gory.
Even though these are house covers, I think TSPT did a pretty good job keeping the original black metal sound of the songs on this album. Most of the songs still have that dark, intimidating melody found in black metal, and some still have snarled vocals. The album even starts with the reading of a poem (in this case one written by a gay rights activist), in a deep satanic sounding voice, as if the singer is casting a spell to start the album. I really like this because it is a great reference to black metal where this kind of thing is a common start to an album, and it helps set the mood for the rest of the album. My favorite covers on this album are "Black Metal," "Satanic Black Devotion," and "Maniac."
The first cover on the album, and second track is "Black Metal," originally by Venom. There is no doubt that the original version of this song, and probably most of the songs on this album, is better, but the cover is defiantly entertaining. Venom is considered 1st wave black metal, which is a lot different than the 2nd wave black metal, like Mayhem and Emperor, that most people think of when they think of black metal. 1st wave black metal is much thrashier and has more understandable lyrics. "Black Metal" by Venom is actually the song that inspired the name of the genre. This version of the song has transformed the song, almost parodically, into a gay-house song. This is also the only song on the album to receive a music video, who's weirdness adds to the absurdity of the cover (watch the music video here).
My favorite song on this album is "Satanic Black Devotion," probably because it is the song on the album that keeps the most of the black metal sound in the song. This is a Sargeist cover. I don't know too much about that band, but they are Finnish band in the style of classic 2nd wave black metal, having that characteristic "snowstorm of noise" sound. The cover starts with a slow doomy melody, reminiscent of post-black, like Agolloch. As a techno beat picks up, harsh, screamed blackened vocals start, giving the song a distinct black metal sound, not as present in the other tracks. The song also has a funky techno part with a sample from "I've Got the Power" mixed in and an ear rapey, speaker blown part, which is interesting.
"Maniac" is another pretty good cover on this album. This song is a song originally by Hellhammer, another 1st wave black metal band. This band is interesting because they only have three demos, one EP, and one single; but despite this, they are a very well respected band. This is probably because when the band broke up, the two main members, Thomas Fischer and Martin Ain, formed a new, extremely popular metal band, Celtic Frost. As a result, most of Hellhammer songs tend to be very rough, with extremely bad recording quality. This isn't really a big deal though, considering bad recording quality is sometimes considered a good thing in black metal. I like this cover because it takes the song in a new direction, and still makes it work. The song uses fast, exciting drums, which lend the well to the lyrics. If you are a maniac, or running from one, things certainly will be exciting, and this song portrays that.
Overall, this album isn't bad, it's not something I'd add to my personal collection, but it is still fun to listen to every once in a while, and maybe show your friends for a laugh. Drew Daniel said himself, "Black metal people aren't going to like this album because it's faggoty disco, but actual dance music people aren't going to like it because it's weird people screaming about Satan." This album isn't really made for anyone, but it is there as something interesting to listen to. Listen to this album to check out a creative idea and maybe have a chuckle.
I keep saying "house," but I'm sure most people reading this blog don't know what that is, so here you go. House is a style of 80s techno club music, produced by DJs, which features drum machines, 4/4 beats, and off beat hi-hats; somewhat similar to disco. Despite this, house is much more electronic and minimalist than disco, and often has a mechanical, repetitive rhythm which isn't as common in disco. A lot of house songs are also mostly or completely instrumental, although this is not a requirement. This genre is also heavily associated with gay and black subcultures.
The Soft Pink Truth is a side project of Drew Daniel, one of the members of the experimental electronica duo, Matmos. Drew Daniel created The Soft Pink Truth on a bet from a friend, Matthew Herbert, that he couldn't create a house record. Besides Why Do the Heathen Rage? TSPT produced two original albums, and a punk cover album. TSPT's music is often weird, but interesting, with strange audio clips, out of place samples from other songs, and broken rhythms. Drew Daniel is also gay and sometimes includes includes aspects of gay culture in TSPT's music.
The album cover is an orgy of blood, gore, sex, and violence. Considering how this is attempting to mimic metal album covers, I this TSPT did a pretty good job, they even included an unreadable band logo, which I like (yes that pink-grey mess is the logo). However, considering that this is a black metal cover album, it's weird that they decided to go with more of a grindcore style album cover instead of a black metal style one (see examples of black metal and grindcore covers below). Black metal album covers tend to be mostly black or monochrome and a lot of times minimalistic, with satanic themes. On the other hand, grindcore albums tend to be busy and have extreme graphic and gory scenes. As you can see, the cover of this album is certainly busy, graphic, and gory.
Even though these are house covers, I think TSPT did a pretty good job keeping the original black metal sound of the songs on this album. Most of the songs still have that dark, intimidating melody found in black metal, and some still have snarled vocals. The album even starts with the reading of a poem (in this case one written by a gay rights activist), in a deep satanic sounding voice, as if the singer is casting a spell to start the album. I really like this because it is a great reference to black metal where this kind of thing is a common start to an album, and it helps set the mood for the rest of the album. My favorite covers on this album are "Black Metal," "Satanic Black Devotion," and "Maniac."
The first cover on the album, and second track is "Black Metal," originally by Venom. There is no doubt that the original version of this song, and probably most of the songs on this album, is better, but the cover is defiantly entertaining. Venom is considered 1st wave black metal, which is a lot different than the 2nd wave black metal, like Mayhem and Emperor, that most people think of when they think of black metal. 1st wave black metal is much thrashier and has more understandable lyrics. "Black Metal" by Venom is actually the song that inspired the name of the genre. This version of the song has transformed the song, almost parodically, into a gay-house song. This is also the only song on the album to receive a music video, who's weirdness adds to the absurdity of the cover (watch the music video here).
My favorite song on this album is "Satanic Black Devotion," probably because it is the song on the album that keeps the most of the black metal sound in the song. This is a Sargeist cover. I don't know too much about that band, but they are Finnish band in the style of classic 2nd wave black metal, having that characteristic "snowstorm of noise" sound. The cover starts with a slow doomy melody, reminiscent of post-black, like Agolloch. As a techno beat picks up, harsh, screamed blackened vocals start, giving the song a distinct black metal sound, not as present in the other tracks. The song also has a funky techno part with a sample from "I've Got the Power" mixed in and an ear rapey, speaker blown part, which is interesting.
"Maniac" is another pretty good cover on this album. This song is a song originally by Hellhammer, another 1st wave black metal band. This band is interesting because they only have three demos, one EP, and one single; but despite this, they are a very well respected band. This is probably because when the band broke up, the two main members, Thomas Fischer and Martin Ain, formed a new, extremely popular metal band, Celtic Frost. As a result, most of Hellhammer songs tend to be very rough, with extremely bad recording quality. This isn't really a big deal though, considering bad recording quality is sometimes considered a good thing in black metal. I like this cover because it takes the song in a new direction, and still makes it work. The song uses fast, exciting drums, which lend the well to the lyrics. If you are a maniac, or running from one, things certainly will be exciting, and this song portrays that.
Overall, this album isn't bad, it's not something I'd add to my personal collection, but it is still fun to listen to every once in a while, and maybe show your friends for a laugh. Drew Daniel said himself, "Black metal people aren't going to like this album because it's faggoty disco, but actual dance music people aren't going to like it because it's weird people screaming about Satan." This album isn't really made for anyone, but it is there as something interesting to listen to. Listen to this album to check out a creative idea and maybe have a chuckle.
1.) Invocation for Strength
2.) Black Metal (Venom Cover)
3.) Sadomatic Rites (Beherit Cover)
4.) Ready to Fuck (Sarcófago Cover)
5.) Satanic Black Devotion (Sargeist Cover)
6.) Beholding the Throne of Might (Darkthrone Cover)
7.) Let There Be Ebola Frost (AN Cover*)
8.) Buried by Time and Dust (Mayhem Cover)
9.) Maniac (Hellhammer Cover*)
10.) Grim and Frostbitten Gay Bar (Impaled Northern Moonforest
Cover*)
*These songs are obscure and not on Spotify or other music websites, so instead I linked to a Youtube video with the song.
2.) Black Metal (Venom Cover)
3.) Sadomatic Rites (Beherit Cover)
4.) Ready to Fuck (Sarcófago Cover)
5.) Satanic Black Devotion (Sargeist Cover)
6.) Beholding the Throne of Might (Darkthrone Cover)
7.) Let There Be Ebola Frost (AN Cover*)
8.) Buried by Time and Dust (Mayhem Cover)
9.) Maniac (Hellhammer Cover*)
10.) Grim and Frostbitten Gay Bar (Impaled Northern Moonforest
Cover*)
*These songs are obscure and not on Spotify or other music websites, so instead I linked to a Youtube video with the song.
Example Black Metal Album Covers
Example Grindcore Album Covers
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