the strange sound of cthulhu
Music inspired by the writings of H.P. Lovecraft - Gary Hill
The first punk incursion into the mythos of H.P Lovecraft, was made by a band called "Rudimentary Peni". The bands first EP was released in 1981, but it wouldn't be until the 1989 release Cacophony that the band would journey into Lovecraftian territory-and in a big way. The entire album is based in one way or another on H.P.L.'s life or work. It varies from song to song, but it's there.
The disc opens with "Nightgaunts", a track whose title alone shows the Lovecraft ties. The lyrics (much like all the lyrics of the band) represent a sort of stream of consciousness hodgepodge of ideas and images given the form of words with the most commonly repeated term being the title. An odd sort of musical texture begins with this, then weird fast paced word section takes over until the band launch into a hard edged, fast paced jam. The main vocals enter and carry through over this backdrop with the spoken word stuff (just the title now) also running at the same time, sort of punctuating the lines. This ends with a scream and a clumsy crescendo. The entire track lasts less than a minute.
They follow it up with " The Horrors In the Museum". While there is no major variation on the style of the lyrical content, no one would mistake the words of one song for the other. Musically a quick sound bite saying, "oh, sonny, I'm sure you know..." serves to start this one. The cut is a bouncing, fast paced jam that is quite entertaining. The vocals are delivered with a typical sneer. There are points in the track where the vocals tend to imitate the sound of a theremin-and this is an extremely nice touch. This eventually wanders into weird noise based chaos as it carries toward its conclusion.
The next cut on the disc is "The Only Child". It is certainly one which refers more to H.P.L.'s life than to this work, as he was, in fact, an "only child." Bass guitar starts this by its self and carries it for a time. The band launch into a bouncing sort of psychedelic punk rock jam with slightly sneering vocals. It ends with noisy weirdness.
While it has been written (and repeated here) that every song on this album has some tie to Lovecraft, one would be hard pressed to find the connection with the next song to be included. That cut is "Architectonic" and Dominant" and includes only two words, "flamelike sunset," for its lyrics. I'm certain there is a link to H.P.L., but I can't tell you what it is. This one comes in like heavy metal, and the whole introduction is in that format. As it kicks into the next segment, though, the frantic punk rock textures take over. This runs through to that verse, then it drops to a segment that's a bit like a twisted Gregorian chant to eventually end.
The next track,"The Evil Clergyman" is a much more closely tied to H.P.L's work. I saw the title to be speaking of the cultists and dark priests that often show up in Lovecraft's stories. However, S.T. Joshi told me that it, "refers to a fragmentary story by H.P.L." This piece is a crunchy, high-energy punk rocker rather in the mode of the bands like The Dead Boys. This is one of the Rudimentary Peni songs that I like more than the rest. It is a fast paced stomper, that while an instrumental seems to be based on H.P.L, both by the title and the fact that it is on this album. It ends with a fast paced monologue of seeming gibberish; or at least unconnected ideas.
"Brown Jenkin", of course, takes it title from the Lovecraftian character with the same name. A whistling in the background of this pounding dark punk opus leads one to think at first that it's a live recording. That whistling sound, though remains throughout in a rather annoying pattern and the semblance of a live performance goes away. This one is essentially a hard-edged tasty punk rock instrumental with some retro rock and roll textures. Some of the frantic spoken recitation ends it.
Another whose link is easy to see is "Crazed Couplet," of course, referring directly to H.P.L.'s famous lines that are often given a similar name. In fact, the song has few lyrics and all of them are drawn from or a variation on that source. /That is not dead which can eternal lie/ And with strange aeons even death may die/ Dead death, dead death, death dead! / Death dead!”. Musically this one is frantic punk with a slowed down sounding spoken vocal of the couplet. Then during the later points of the cut the “Dead death” part is sung over the top of this. This ends with a spoken word recitation.
The next song in line is “Sarcophagus.” One need look no further than the first line of the song, which is actually the title of a Lovecraft story, “Imprisoned with the Pharaohs,” to see the obvious ties that bind this one to the Lovecraft mythos. For me this is a little hard to take in the first modes. A rather disharmonic guitar pattern is good, but the vocals add to it in a very unappealing way. This one is just plain weird and a bit too abrasive for my tastes.
“Lovecraft Baby” is another where the links to H.P.L. should be obvious just from the title. This one is a bouncy and fun with a bit of Elvis mixed in with the band’s usual punk rock textures. It’s obvious that they played this one for the fun of it.
They follow that cut with “Dream City.” This is one of the more accessible numbers on the disc with a bouncing punk rock / classic rock theme serving as the backdrop for the unusual, but cool / falsetto vocals. A short segment with an almost prog rock texture takes it to just spoken vocals that serve as the eventual conclusion.
Next up is “C12 H22 O11.” While I’m not sure about the Lovecraftian connection on this song, the title is actually the chemical composition of refined sucrose. This is another that has a fairly standard punk rock mode to the music, at least at first. It than shifts to a weird, dark spacy jam, then more of the spoken babble sounding atmosphere of which these guys seem extremely fond.
“Zenophobia” is the next track on the disc. The cut is a plodding sort of jam with groaned, screamed vocals in its early section. This part feels like one portion Dave Clark Five and one piece AC/DC done by a garage band. It definitely has a solid chunk of psychedelia, but in a very raw, crunchy arrangement. It then drops to an atmospheric sound with a sort of clerical ministration spoken over the top of lines of guitar. Then it becomes a tongue in cheek conversation. Sound affects take it out from there.
Next in line is the song “Sunset for the Lords of Venus.” The piece at first is a straightforward jam. This section is purely instrumental, but then it ends and some spoken word madness concludes it.
That one is followed by “ Beyond the Tanarian Hills.” The track has almost whiney vocals, but in a sneering sort of way. It also has one of the most meaty riffs powering it of any of the band have done. Interestingly enough, this one feels a bit like Led Zeppelin's form of classic rock at times, but twisted around into an odd sort of version of itself.
"Beyond the Tanarian Hills"
"I dream a new name I don't care about anyone. The herd laughed at my writing my dream writing. I write no more but I still dream, I write no more but I still dream. Flying zigzagging zugzwanging. Aurora over cities of the apocalypse. Death lying upon that land, crazy chrysophase faces Gingko trees shudder, pagodas perish. Expelled from London through the towns of Surrey, melting minarets homes growing thinner, Beyond the Tanarian Hills."
“Imps of the Perverse” is next in line. The vast majority of this cut is a fast paced spoken rant (done with a tongue in cheek accent) of a critic of H.P.L. As it carries on some hints of music are brought in for a short time. The it goes back to the stream of consciousness trashing of Lovecraft. Eventually, though, the band launch into a frantic, progression that is pretty interesting. I’d say the most intriguing part of this one is how fast and long the guy can rant without a break.
That one is followed by “The Loved Dead.” While the lyrics certainly speak of H.P.L; I’d say it would serve them best to present them here without comment and let the reader draw their own conclusion. “They’ve taken Lovecraft’s lantern jaw off and are embalming him / his pale complexion feigns an aura more lifelike than when he lived the adoration of dead personalities safe fantasia / immortality of the unobtainable. Those lines represent the entire lyrical content of the song. The cut starts with a fast paced bass line, then it jumps into a frantic jam that feels a bit like Hawkwind. Breathy, almost hiccuped lines of vocals come over the top. The bass guitar truly powers this cut, moving furious lines ever upward. It ends with another spoken segment and is one of my favorite cuts on the disc.
“Periwig Power” is next up on the CD. This launches in with a fast paced riff and the cut is fairly “normal,” save for the odd vocals, mostly delivered in the spoken, shouted seemingly humorous vein as most of the singing on this disc. Gasping and coughing ends this number.
“Kappa Alpha Tau” comes in next sequence on the album. On this one the links to Lovecraft are somewhat unclear. Other than the title - H.P.L; wrote a poem called “The Anthem of Kappa Tau”-I can see only a few minor hints. There is a reference to a cat and these words have a vague Lovecraft texture, “artifacts of the aether / specks of the universe. There is also a reference to “noble aloof,” which might be someone’s interpretation of Mr. Lovecraft himself. I have been informed by S.T. Joshi that the band could not have read “The Anthem of Kappa Tau” before writing the song, as it had not been published until Joshi himself resurrected it in 2001. He was, however, able to shed light on the origins of this song. According to Joshi, “Kappa Alpha Tau” (the Greek letter KAT) is the name H.P.L. gave to a group of cats next door to his house at 66 College St. in Providence, where he lived from 1933 till his death in 1937.” It is also possible that the song is somehow inspired by Lovecraft’s essay, “Cats and Dogs” from 1926. I have not been able to verify it. In any case, this comes in with a metallic segment with a burst and a snarling, evil sounding vocal. It stomps through for a short time in this mode, after which it drops back to what sounds like some kind of a creature either purring or snoring.
