Sound Colour Vibration (Music | Art | Film | Technology | Science | Culture)

Belgium’s Kabul Golf Club present the five song EP Le Bal Du Rat Mort with Uproar For Veneration, a mind bending assault of rock music that is stretched to the limitations of said genre. Wailing sheets and violent forays of guitar are positioned into place by bass turned all the way to the max that is always moving from the dynamic foot work on the drum kit. I had little expectation going into this EP as I had heard a small snippet of what the band is doing and waited for the album in the mail. Le Bal Du Rat Mort turned out to be the most abrasive thing I have heard all year and has been on constant rotation since I got it.

Beginning with the juggernaut of a piece “Bits of Freedom”, a massive state of energy takes shape after the guitar and vocals shatter all over the mix. The drums, bass and guitar rattle in high volume states over massive chords structures. The music is very abrasive in the first minute in and it this energy that retains the glory and strength of this record. As machine gun like blasts come together from the bass, drums and guitar, the music shifts into a lot looser state with an exotic effect on the bass that changes the feeling of the song. As soon as this realizes itself, the machine gun blasts take over again. All over this album, this same change in dynamics stays true. The bass is at such a high volume it feels like it is about to rattle out of the speaker it’s plugged into. The note progression and vocal presence are spell binding by the end and it’s a level of energy accumulation that must be euphoric live. The fact that they captured a live sound so well on record is beyond my explanation.

“Minus 45″ is where Kabul Golf Club take the music into a more exploratory mode, channeling menacing and mutated guitar lines, crunchy bass fills and really technically drum work around an unusual sense of melody. Every few moments a twist and turn is present, and a diversion between Primus, Hella and Retox takes form. The way the music moves is unreal and it is a song like this that makes me really respect what they are all about. Vocally, the music is as hardcore as it gets, with a commanding presence that removes octave changes for a towering feeling. It’s a vocal approach that goes far beyond the notes and exemplifies a state of this world that is as raw and unfiltered as it comes. The ending see’s the band moving into a free form mode, stretching into undefined territory that is one of the most abstract moments of the record.

“Fast Moving Consumer Goods” conjures up a heavily sedated grooved out state that is defined by much harsher principles of sound than you’d associate the word groove to. The guitars are at their most inventive and emerged in the album. Small guitar fills lace the music into a maddening state as the bass and drums bounce off one another with enough energy to power cities. The guitars purpose is distinct and clear: to fuck everything up in its path. This song has those type of guitar transitions that feel like bricks being thrown in your way. Duck if you can is the only type of resolve I can feel inside of this song. At the end, the guitars open up in many stunning directions and sound like they are ripping matter open right before you. There are very few guitar players who can channel that heated and violent state through their instrument. It’s an energy that can make a room go ape shit and Kabul Golf Club are now in my list for those who I know can. Hard to believe the power of a studio recording could bring me to that conclusion.

“5 Minutes 2 Midnight” is a beautiful song that drives the listen to a crazy and chaotic state. Tightly laced guitar lines and a full rhythm section begin the song right away. The piece begins in a grooved out state and finds its way into more jagged and rough terrain as each section unravels. The tones become psychotic in many of the sections and it’s these sections that I can’t get enough of. It’s unreal how free form and abstract many of the sections become, than their reprise lets you know how calculated and directed those sections were. The drums really highlight how much the music has room to change and mold and the band doesn’t waste any time doing so.

“Demon Days” ends Le Bal Du Rat Mort with the same menacing groove that pervades most of the record. Bass is turned up to volume 10 and the rest of the musicians fall in line with the standard of weight on the bottom and top end. Guitars are inventive in this song as well, creating a plethora of ideas over the main rhythm guitar, drum and bass sections. The song grinds away at the same rhythmic foundation, finding a rooted center that doesn’t change format every few intervals like many of the songs. The guitars completely reinvent themselves every few bars but the underside just smashes away, never loosing ground or momentum. The guitar is incredibly unhinged and has a small break down section that highlights how far outward the band can take things. This same sense of a dynamic free for all retains its identity to the ending sounds.

Le Bal Du Rat Mort is one of those short rides that pulls me out of my seat and leaves me feeling forever changed. As experimental forms of rock music continue to spiral from the origins, the identity becomes a transformative process that retains every part of the dynamic beauty and raw power of the founders. As Kabul Golf Club pulls from these founders gifts of creation and pulls from their own inner visions as well, they become a part of this rich legacy and not just an off shoot or carbon copy. I absolutely love everything about Le Bal Du Rat Mort.

Order this EP here http://www.kgc-band.com/