When I picked this album, I didn’t have a clue what it would sound like. I love Americana (Bluegrass), whatever the fuck you want to call it, being born in Kentucky I was kind of immersed in it and old school Country, and before I get hate mail (there’s always that one motherfucker); Nergal from Behemoth has an Americana/ Folk band called Me and That Man… so hush.

This is probably as close to reviewing a Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds record as I’ll ever get, unless I started writing for NME or Rolling fucking Stone, and that’s not likely to happen.

What’s so Metal about an Americana/ Folk/Gothic album anyway? There’s no blasting, no guttural vocals… Yet these songs about serial killers and Frontier violence are as disturbing as a Dying Fetus song, just not as fast. They’re from Athens, Greece. Not Athens, Georgia. GREECE.

Starting with “Down to hell (Black Cat Bar)”, its prominent banjos and guitar are there for the world to hear. It’s not a long song, just 2:41 minutes, but it dutifully sets the menacing tone of the album.

It’s followed by the raucous “Knoxville Girl” with the fantastic lyrics “go down, go down! Knoxville Girl! With dark and rolling eyes (I hope I got the lyric right)! Go down! Go down, Knoxville Girl you’ll never be my wife” and then he fucking drowns her in the river! If I had to compare this to a Nick Cave album, it would be his seminal Murder Ballads full-length… maybe also Let Love In.

“Kingdom of the Corn” is presented in live form and in studio for,m and it’s a killer song, plus that title, too! It’s got this huge chorus that is breathtaking, with these ethereal violins punctuating the air with unholy malice.

“Born Dead” is depressing as fuck. It’s about this guy trying to explain why he kills and the chorus “I was… born dead” is a self-realization is soul-crushing, as is the frontier-style breakdown at the end. Hoooo doggie!

“GG Allin” is the psychotic tribute to the late shock rocker, and it’s one of the fastest songs on The Harvest. Not in terms of blast beats or thrashing guitars but in a more feral, animalistic sort of way. This isn’t a Death Metal Country album like VHS tried to do with For a Few Riffs More. This has more in common with a stripped-down to its core Gothic My Dying Bride, I mean, there is a violin at play here.

The production is as big as the Montana sky, and it is hard to believe they’re from Greece, but they are. I guess prior to this album, they were doing Industrial music with hammers and anvils and shit, and then they performed European Folk under a different name altogether… Défilé des Âmes. Their first album Zombie Horses, is one I haven’t listened to yet, so I plan on checking it out as well.

“Gold is the Metal” is a mellow track, meandering like a river through the dark recesses of your mind, while “Trouble was her Name” is more of a violent whirlwind about familial distress, and it reminds me of “Song of Joy” from Nick Cave‘s Murder Ballads.

There are tales of biblical-level destruction with “Old Testament” followed by another album favorite in “Hail to the King.” This fucker breaks down and just grooves the way home at the end.

That will be the end of the album unless you get the CD, then you’ll get a live version of “Kingdom of the Corn” I love that title so much and another track called “St. James Infirmary.” It’s part of the reason why you should get the physical release! Because of cool shit like that!

I suppose I could compare this to the previously mentioned Me and That Man and call it a day. I’m not going to do that because this is also spirited with Tom Waites and Hank 3, as well as Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. I bet you’re going to like it even if you don’t think you will.

 

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