Hardcore Anal Hydrogen –
The Talas of Satan

There are names and there are names when labelling your band, I don’t know if hardcore and anal are two words that I would use in my band name if I was ever to create such a thing. Which I am of course not, I am not interested in making music. This french quartet are however, and they think anal hydrogen is the shit, and it should be made hardcore. It is satanic music of a classical indian way, at least that is what the title leads you to believe. The Talas of Satan is the third album of this band and it is covered by a fairly ugly and sort of hindu looking cover artwork.

And hindu music is one prevailing trait of the music of this band. However, it is much more than that, the music is complex and has many layers. All songs have their individual trait so it is a bit difficult to make an all-encompassing description of the album but to say that it is ethnic metal with some elements of other stuff. Disharmonious it is in parts, I think dissonance is another way of saying it due to the crazy nature of how the elements come together. Some extreme metal elements are there as well, I think that you could say that they paint their musical canvas is bright colours and big strokes with big brushes. It is fascinating and it is very nicely produced, the soundscape is definitely fine and the playing time is short and the album has good variation.

When hearing something that is clever and fantasy laden like this I want to like it, to celebrate how good and clever it is. I want to write it up to the skies with big words and all of that, but it is not possible. The music is not good, it is imaginative and clever but it sounds awful. A disharmonious racket, sounds that are annoying and growling that sounds like shit. Thing is though that I like the album’s beginning but nothing else and the further the album goes the less bearable it becomes and in the end my head hurts and a migraine is on the rise. It is a difficult album: difficult to like, difficult to listen to, difficult to even start playing, difficult to take to, difficult to get into as it requires one or two listens before that, just a difficult album.

No anal hardcore here, maybe that would have been better because I cannot really like this. I won’t say that it sucks but it is not far from it, maybe if you like your music a bit nuts. Then again I like music that is different, that takes its own path that looks in direction no bands look in but it will have to be good as well and this album isn’t. I can only recommend that you look elsewhere for your musical thrills, it is an album well worth avoiding.

HHHHHHH