From
*note:
written clearly by someone who had absolutely no contact with the band,
therefore almost all information is completely inaccurate.
“Noteworthy Nobodies: Realicide expresses music
in its absence”
by Jason Albaugh 3/27/03
Realicide is really more of a collective than a
real band, and its members change as often as its style and sound.
Driven by the need to experiment with new styles
and experiences in sound, as well as a need to comment on popular and not so
popular music, Realicide pushes the definitions of music and noise, seeking the
music that lies in the absence of music.
Like a chaotic compound, with its separate parts
fully autonomous and insecure, Realicide is like a radioactive material, always
deathly close to self-destruction, and from this self-destruction comes rebirth.
With Realicide, and its various side and solo
projects, the true edges of music can be heard.
Realicide has its music released on its own
record label, More Punk Less Rock Records, and it is on this album that all the
many members of Realicide are able to freely express their own ideas and music.
Each member is very unique, and the music that comes from the band is like the
mad ramblings of a maniacal genius.
The band's co-leaders are Robert Inhuman on
voice and keyboards; and Mavis Concave on voice, keyboards and trumpets.
Joining them from time to time are guitarist
Aaron Quinn, bassist YES, and keyboardist Infamous A. Granted, this is only one
incarnation of the monster, but it is effective nonetheless. The band cites
artists like Einsturzende Neubauten, Kid 606 and Aphex Twin as influences, and
through the group's songs, these are readily apparent.
One of the group's songs, "Love Is
Profanity," is a massive ode to the standards of the society. Amidst the
keyboard driven beat, there is a humorous slap bass effect and the creepy
falsetto of Inhuman, which then launch into a grinding metal breakdown followed
by a cinematic Dog Fashion Disco-esque guitar solo.
The goal of the band seems to be to leave the
listener deaf, befuddled and possibly angered -- a combination of reactions
that Realicide accomplishes quite well.
Keeping the theme of love, another of
Realicide's tracks, "Luv So Fuh," is built upon an eerily gothic
keyboard part surrounded by howling feedback. Inhuman's lyrics come through an
echoing effect, given him the sound of an insane leader directing his citizens.
The band does not merely experiment with
over-the-top noise, however, as it also works with other genres of music. With
the song "Dust & Deity," the soundtrack to a puppet show of the
same name, the group plays around with ambience, making a good deal of white
noise with screeching keyboards and guitar feedback, while simultaneously
performing a strange bassline reminiscent of the killer theme in "The Ring."
The song has a
interlude consisting of recordings of waves and a strange guitar solo, and ends
with sound-bytes of people talking about suicide, the perfect end to the
curious soundscape it creates.
One of the amusing things about Realicide is the
fact that it is really a collaborative effort from several different solo
members. Most notable in these efforts is the work of Inhuman and Concave.
Inhuman is more of a techno artist than Concave,
and his songs reflect a love of strange beats and obscure samples.
His song "Fast" is simply a
guitar-driven techno track with a driving bass drum roll effect. It is
Inhuman's sound effects that win in many cases with his music, especially
because he acknowledges the fact that Concave is playing bass by repeatedly
using samples that say "Mavis."
The sound effects and frantic beat also come
through on his song "Backstreet Noys" which satirizes pop music with
what a sound byte describes as "the big number one, the loudest
sound."
Inhuman also shares his group's interest in
ambience, however, with the song "Fireflies (Ambient Reprise,)" a
quiet number from his Sleep album that claims Coil as its primary influence.
Concave, on the other hand, is more of a
guitarist, and his solo music comes more in the vein of industrial metal than
techno.
In a way, the songs that Concave releases are
more like a combination of early 1990s Ministry and early Marilyn Manson. His
song "Focus" would feel right at home on Manson’s Portrait Of An American Family disc, but Concave does his best to
switch it around a little as well.
His song "Onomatopoeia" is a more
frighteningly creepy song, with pounding beats and scary voice effects.
Concave's whisper is almost as terrifying as when he makes himself sound like
an infant. The ludicrous nature of the song is exposed, especially when the
music cuts out to just Concave's voice saying the title of the song, and also
when it ends with him pounding each syllable of the word like a sledgehammer.
One thing that is very interesting about
Realicide and its various solo projects is the fact that it flaunts the fact
that it is more punk and less rock.
This is a strong distinction from those that
view punk as a specific genre and not the experimental nature that it first
held. Granted, both definitions are valid, but the experimentalism of punk
harkens back to its early days.
Currently, bands like Ex-Models and
So, as the name suggests, Realicide kills the
realities that exists, and then makes up its own.