While it certainly pushes the boundaries of what can be called metal, Evil Sword’s last album An Eerie Fire Eats The Brain has a unique vibe that I love. It sounds like the amalgamation of a teenager’s journal during their Wicca phase, God Is My Co-Pilot, and a drunken recorder player. Even that description doesn’t do it justice. It’s far too chaotic to be tied down by what some wiry music journalist with a Joy Division t-shirt and delusions of grandeur says it is. It’s pure organic freedom unhindered by anything.
The album gives an impression of being the soundtrack to a ritual born of chaos magic, animalistic and dangerous. I can see the woodland precession talked about in the album’s description. The syncopated drum beats build the initial mood, feverish and maddening thumps rather than any conventional type of percussion. The opening cry of a trumpet on Phaedra is a rude awakening to the soundscape that lays before the listener. The whole track feels like a cult coming to gather in the woods, foreboding and evil. It makes me feel like a Puritan witnessing their fellow citizens dancing in the woods. It’s disquieting to say the least. On the second track, we’re introduced to the bass of Ben Furgal and the absolutely wonderful voice of Kate Ferencz. Furgal plays off the drums like a jazz musician. It’s delightfully listenable. Ferencz’s vocals are those of the head of a coven. There’s power to her words, or at least her intonation. She has the range of a noise musician and the fervor of an AM radio preacher who decided to start worshipping Satan. This eclectic mix of instrumentation results in some truly memorable songs.
One of my favorite tracks is Worm, co-written with Nina Ryser. It opens with Furgal’s bass alongside loud thumping drums. It sounds like someone being beaten to death with a brick, each thwack representing a crack in their skull until it’s nothing but grey matter and bone fragments on the ground that will soon be eaten by the animals. The vocals here reinforce this feeling of a violent death. Ferencz screams about a worm, “Changing what’s dead into something that’s living again”. The victim isn’t quite clear though. It shifts from the worm to Ferencz herself when she exclaims, “When I’m dead and the worm folk will all come to get me”. The worms will consume us all in the end whether we like it or not. Even though it’s so short, clocking in at 1:53, it’s one of the album’s most memorable moments given its sheer energy.
Another great track is Coward, coming near the end. The instrumentation is more like stoner metal with recorder solos. It’s low and primal in the same way that bands like Sleep are, calling the listener on a holy pilgrimage toward the conclusion. The only difference is the length, again, clocking in under two minutes. In a way I feel that length is the album’s greatest strength and weakness at the same time. It’s kept brief enough to not be overwhelming, but at the same time, it feels incomplete. I want more from the album. I hope that Evil Sword is able to bring that to their next release.
Despite the four year gap since their last release, Evil Sword really delivered with An Eerie Fire Eats The Brain. It’s haunting and compelling all the same. By the end of it, I wanted more material from the band. It has a similar pull for me as Trout Mask Replica, but I’m not overwhelmed at the one hour mark, which can sometimes happen with Captain Beefheart. Instead, I just want more of the chaotic pagan sound they deliver. I hope that their next release has more material for me to enjoy. This album is absolutely worth a listen. If you want to see this band live, they’re playing a show on March 31st at the Dorchester Art Project. Doors are at 8 pm.
