The Soft Pink Truth — Why Do The Heathen Rage?
So in essence Why Do The Heathen Rage, a simple question, that in Daniels hands becomes a very confusing one. Where to begin; it seems obvious that Daniel is a fan of black metal. Yet a fan of black metal has a lot of opposing forces to contend with, if not metaphysically, ethically and spiritually. In essence black metal has been music that is for and by the glorification of Satanism or all things perceived by those religious to be evil and nasty and blasphemous. Digging into the lyrical themes of black metal is another kettle of fish and when is something black metal or not black metal? If Satan or Satanism (theistic and atheistic) isn’t mentioned does that negate the black metal title? What about the artists creating black metal, are they really Satanists or just playing the role? Yes there are some artists who are unapologetically racist, sexist and homophobic. On the flip side you have those who vehemently are not. It’s not an easy genre of music to justify to the casual music listener much less the artists. Can pointing out the discrepancies in what artists say and do change their thinking?
Let’s begin with The Soft Pink Truths’ own disclaimer: “Disclaimer: Aesthetics and Politics are neither equivalent nor separable. Black metal fandom all too often entails a tacit endorsement or strategic looking-the-other-way with regards to the racist, anti-Semitic, sexist and homophobic bullshit politics that (still) pervade the scene, on behalf of either escapist fantasy talk, shaky invocations of art as a crypto-religious path to transcendence, or--the oldest cop out in the book--the quietist declaration that "I just like how it sounds." Just as blasphemy both affirms and assaults the sacred powers it invokes and inverts, so too this record celebrates black metal and offers queer critique / mockery / profanation of its ideological morass in equal measure. Mixed emotions about a murky, diverse and self-differential scene are all very well, but, as Barack Obama is so fond of saying at press conferences just before legitimizing drone warfare, let's be clear: No apologies, no excuses, and no escape clauses are hereby offered. Murderers are murderers. No safe space for fascist garbage. The Soft Pink Truth hereby abjures black metal homophobes, racists, and Nazis categorically and absolutely: MAY THIS CURSE BIND! Remember Magne Andreassen!"
Got it. So what do we have here, short answer is Black metal tunes revamped in a techno/electronic style. Some are really good, namely Sarcofago’s “Ready To Fuck”. Featuring Jen Wasner (from Wye Oak) vocals it’s a sexy, slithery that would make Prince proud, fantastic actually. Hellhammers’ “Maniac” morphs into an industrial pounder of a cover in a Front 242 vein. Beherit’s “Sadomatic Rites”, Mayhems “Buried By Time & Dust” (featuring MC Schmidt of Matmos), Darkthrone’s “Beholding The Throne of Might” and Venoms “Black Metal” are ok covers of the originals, nothing too special but not awful either, staccato and gravely vocals to go along with throbbing drums.
Sargeitst’s “Satanic Black Devotion” starts out interesting with acoustic guitars and layered clean and whispering vocals, but it spirals back to the casio keyboard drumbeats and starts sounding like more of the same on “Why Do The Heathen Rage?” Things become hopeful again of “Let There Be Ebola Frost (An cover)" which once again features Jen Wasners breathy vocals enhanced by a dark and dirty atmosphere. Quick note, this is one of the only songs here that has any atmosphere.
Is it a bad listen, no; yet it is easy to imagine the true and devoted black metallers getting into a twist over this but also it’s a possibility in their misanthropic view they wouldn’t even care. Maybe that was the point? It’s really hard to tell, because: 1. It seems like Drew Daniel is a ravenous fan of black metal 2.but It’s hard to discern whether he feels love, shame or anger for the genre. Maybe a combination of all three; sometimes fans like the music they like and have no interest in not only the lyrics but the lifestyle (murderer or not) of the people who make the music. Cop out, sure, but you can say the same thing about other genres’ artists’ lyrics and actions too (rap, country, neofolk, etc…)
Will Why Do The Heathen Rage? change the above “racist, sexist, homophobic and anti-semetic bullshit politics” that The Soft Pink Truth name in their disclaimer? Doubtful, but in Daniels’ mind at least it opens up the discussion.