MabusCII, Q62
Mabus will soon die, then will come,
A horrible undoing of people and animals, At
once one will see vengeance, One hundred
powers, thirst, famine, when the comet will .
pass.
CVI, Q33
His hand finally through the bloody ALUS,
He will be unable to protect himself by sea,
Between two rivers he will fear the military hand,
The black and angry one will make him repent of it
Mabus was prophesied by Nostradamus to be the third coming of the anti-christ, follwing the previous two, who were believed to be also prophesied by Nostradamus: Napoleon, and Hitler. Obviously, no one is sure whether or not the anti-christ will take on the human name of Mabus or rather resemble the name in a rearrangement of letters. Many Mabus scholars believe it will be some one from the middle east. Now that you're aware of the origins behind the band's name you can read on...
These guys come from Highland Falls, Hopewell Junction, and Purchase, which are little towns that surround the Hudson River. They have been at it since 2001, and have self released two demos and played many shows locally and nationally. Prior to releasing this full length, the band had lost their guitar player, and had seen a revolving door of candidates. That is, until they enlisted the services of Mike, who has been with the band since the recording of this album...
Musically, these guys are all over the place. I mean in any given song, you'll catch a death metal riff, jazz section and even some more pop type stuff. You would think such genre bending would sound really forced and contrived, but that is not the case with these guys. Surprisingly, they are able to intertwine their medley of influences into one cohesive, organic sounding album. "One's nosedive is Another's Parade," shows the band doing something very similar to how Candiria started out, combining crushing death metal with a crazy jazzed out section. It also showcases the vocalist ability to do the low gutteral stuff, which he does exceptionally well. "Don't Mind If I Do," features winding discordant guitar runs through the first minute of the song, and then they slow it up with a bridge breakdown which flows nicely into a great bass driven jazz part. From that song they effortlessly jump into the next track, "Care To Drag." If you didn't know any better, you would've thought it was still the same track. This track showcases the bands ability to play the technical metalcore angle in the vein of Into The Moat. "No More Tricks, No More Limbs," shows them opening up with a real melancholy intro, very similar to what Between and The Buried and Me did often on their s/t album that runs for half of the 5 minute track They than break into an off-timed metal riff and than they slip into another brief jazzy moment with the singer coming out of left field with some spoken/sung jazz like vocals and end the song on a nice heavy breakdown. "Swingin' In Saterlee Grove" shows the band's ability to create an atmosphere for the listener. Between the background noises of a club setting and the live like recording it makes you feel like you're at a jazz lounge with the horns and all."The Hangman's Trampy Daughter" really pulls together the band's pool of influences. You get everything the band has to offer, musically and lyrically. "Canyon's For Ribcages" is an interlude that features the guitar playing over some ambient samples, and sets up the final song of this album nicely. "Retire Happy," like Hangman's Daughter, shows the band going full swing, hitting you with everything they have to off, giving you one last big push before the end of the disc.
Lyrically, these guys love to paint an abstract painting with their words. I won't be able to do these songs justice so here's what you get from these guys: Today came a windless skeletal heap, and it's been years since I've felt so homefree...-"Canyon's For Ribcages" And then: Your prized hot shot futurist is my well wretched bone's organ concussing itself into a sarrowed has been escape tune, with wings that sore through other heroes daylight...-"One's Nosedive is Another's Parade" Very good stuff. I shall shower the person who recorded and produced this thing with accolades, because this thing couldn't have sounded any better. First off, the bass tone sounds perfect. Every bassist should strive for the tone found on this album. The perfect amount of warmth, low end, and treble. The guitars are rich and warm during the more clean parts and heavy and full during the heavier, distorted sections. The drumming is nice and dense sounding, leaving little to be desired. Couldn't have asked for better vocal placement. And one of the things that really helps the stand apart is the amazing atmosphere the band creates is amplified by the recording, the little samples of a club atmosphere placed in during the spaced out jazz parts, and ambient droning in "Canyons for Ribcages," all help set the mood. The layout is just as off the wall as the music and lyrics. Half of the layout is based on drawings of people who look like their from the rag time era with the other half sporting random pictures of a street light, abandoned warehouse, and old shed/barn. The band logo looks great, whoever drew it or chose the font did good. Inside the book it's just the lyrics, however they added a lot of little different fonts/shades/shadows/etc on certain key words. Good stuff.
Rating: 5/5
Songs worthy of replay: The Hangman's Trampy Daughter, One's Nosedive is Another's Parade, Care To Drag
Thesis: I don't know whether or not this is a concept album but it very well could be, especially considering how each song flows perfectly into the next. Or it could just be the off the wall, abstract lyrics and layout combined with the meaning of the band's name. I don't know, if anyone knows, feel free to shot me an email and let me know. But anyway, I'm really digging these guys. Though what they're doing isn't exactly new, they actually pull it off without each song sounding radically different. Although this isn't as hell bent on genre bending as Between the Buried and Me's, "Alaska" was, it sports a hell of a lot more emotion.