Unless you had caught them on tour over the last couple of years you may have thought that Christian Death were finally errr dead! Not in the slightest it would appear as Valor Kand, Maitri and Jason Frantz are finally back with more apocalyptic rock following up from 2007 release American Inquisition. I’m not going to dip back into the history of the band and all the factions that have run through it, you either know it or you don’t and it really doesn’t need retelling every time the band does something new. Valor and Maitri are the driving force keeping the band a consistent and valid force, spitting in the face of god for years now. They have their fair share of haters and that’s never going to change. They have also delivered some fantastic music in the process such as albums like ‘Atrocities,’ ‘The Scriptures’ and ‘Pornographic Messiah’ as well as living a seemingly debauched and chaotic lifestyle that occasionally spills out onto the stage, never leaving you knowing quite what to expect.
The first thing to mention about ‘The Root….’ really is that it is a sultry and sinuous album leading you into its gospels with forked tongue, full of beguiling temptation. On the whole don’t go into this thinking it’s going to be full of death rock anthems for the dance floor, this is more of a decadent and dark gothic feast. That idea of temptation is evident as we enter ‘into the Garden of Evilution’ to sounds of snakes a slithering, spoken word parts and a big tribal drumming bombast. “Beware of the serpent,” is Kand’s message and the trade-off of his and Maitri’s beseeching vocal parts begins. There always seems to be stories to unfold in the band’s songs and this one, an age old one is no exception. Middle Eastern sounds and rhythms temper our descent into ‘This Cross’ and it’s a twisty turning belly dance of a number that you can well envisage Maitri getting well into the spirit of on stage. It’s also a bit like a mix of gothic, world music and a totally fragrant and heady number transporting you off to far-away lands. It’s all incredibly theatrical and at melting point before ‘Tar Black Liquid’ literally oozes and trickles out with thick bass parts and a slow beguiling beat. ‘Fema Coffins’ sounds like a song that should have Jaz Coleman ranting over but as the rhythm picks up adding classical strains the chorus here sees the two vocalists matching each other perfectly as they bring their tale right into the horrifying present. At the half way mark ‘Illuminazi’ proves not to just be a clever exercise in word play but the one real ‘Church Of No Return’ of the album rocking right out with skeletal guitars and a pogo inducing beat.
By comparison the electronic slow and brooding number that follows ‘We Have Become’ takes things to a slow doom laden crawl drawing you in to its temple and tempting you with more riches and promises as they are unveiled by Kand’s imploring call to worshipers to “bring out their flowers” and join the sinister cult. The songs on the album are all relatively short and are not allowed to sprawl out giving the impression of an overall dark play, one that would actually be perfect if played live in its entirety. Perhaps that is something they are planning on their forthcoming tour with some classics on the second part of the set. That would work very well as there is plenty going on to keep you engaged throughout with the two vocalists both having their own clearly defined parts. It’s Maîtri who takes up these with ethereal grace on ‘Forgiven’ completely captivating and enchanting in the process. ‘Deliver Us’ picks up the pace and is the other real upbeat number on the album finding redemption through Maitri’s stand out vocal performance and a rocking ballast and some great bluesy harmonica. All too soon the album comes to close with last number ‘Secrets Down Below’ with the clank of steel upon steel and a slow and another ‘intoxicating’ melody that’s going to follow you down to the grave.
When you look back on this album it strikes just how much they have crammed into it and the structure, song-writing prowess and narrative really stands out here. They may wander off into the wilderness now and again but when they come back Christian Death never fail to captivate and surprise; The Root Of All Evilution is another chapter worthy of the band’s ever intriguing legacy.
(8/10 Pete Woods)
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