I seem to be on a streak of extreme music lately, which was kind of inevitable considering that there is a lot of it in my library. But you know what? I don't even care, because Masakari just popped up on shuffle. Sadly, the band is no more. But in their short run, they crafted some of the MOST crushing, emotionally charged and monolithic, crusty hardcore I have ever heard. The Prophet Feeds is Masakari's first, and only full length LP. They would later go on to record a few EPs and splits before breaking up, one of which was the excellent Alpinist split in 2011. But for me, this record stands out as the pinnacle of their work, which is amazing given that it's their friggin' debut.
What makes The Prophet Feeds such a mind-blowing album? I would say that beyond the wall of sound created by the buzz saw guitars, the hailstorm of down beat drumming, the absolutely ferocious rhythms and roaring vocals, it's the sense of righteous anger that this album develops so well. For example, the song X Pain Conceived as Tool pretty much hits the nail on the head in terms of capturing how I feel about dog fighting for sport, and the senselessness of animal abuse in general. The song is all at once seething with anger and also incredibly sad, thanks to the pounding heaviness of the song itself coupled with colossal, soaring melodies. The same thing happens on the outro to this album, which substitutes the vocals for a sample of an American soldier recounting his experiences with systemic racism in the military. Played underneath the track, the soldiers heart-rending account of his attempts to help out an injured detainee, who was being abused by the soldier's own officer, adds to the overall feeling of this album. Masakari are calling attention to the senselessness of much of the worlds pain, and injustices, and inciting us to get angry about it.
It may be important to note that Masakari aren't creating something entirely new with this album. There are bands like Cursed and His Hero is Gone who were obviously influential on Masakari's sound. However, rather than being an HHIG rip-off band, I think that Masakari have taken the established conventions of dark crusty hardcore and polished them into a masterpiece that stands on its own. This genre allows for bands to craft music that is both crushingly angry and heart-breaking, and Masakari knew how to expertly engage both feelings in order to create a full effect on the listener.
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