PAINKILLER — Buried Secrets (review)

Album · 1992 · Eclectic Fusion

4/5 · 2017-01-06
siLLy puPPy

John Zorn continued his PAINKILLER band which was one of the earliest examples of mixing avant-garde jazz with grindcore metal and one of the first hardcore bands of the era to delivery all the intense and sinister feel of what extreme metal bands of the same time were conjuring up only mostly without guitar. The second EP release BURIED SECRETS not only continues what was unleashed on “Guts Of A Virgin” but adds on new layers of intensity. Once again John Zorn makes his alto sax sound like a tortured pig being sacrificed to Satan with Bill Laswell pounding out heavily distorted bass lines accompanied by Mitch Harris pounding out intense drumming sessions. There were also a couple of helpers on this one with Justin Broadick adding some guitar, drum machine and vocals on the title track and on “The Toll.” G.C. Green also contributes on bass on the same two tracks.

While BURIED SECRETS carries on most of what the debut dished out, it expands upon its overall sounds. The first moment of true departure from the previous offering’s limitations comes with “Blackhole Dub” which contains just as the title suggests with a dub beat on bass and a simple drum backing while Zorn wails on the alto sax in a very strange way. It no longer sounds like a tortured pig but more like a tortured canary! There is also some dark ambient effects that make it seem very eerie. The production in general seems more polished on this one. The title track is totally different than many other tracks. The addition of the guitar really puts this one in left field but don’t expect any grungy metal power chords or anything. This one is chock full of strange echoey freaky riffs and note bends that reverberate into infinity. There is so much feedback and ambient embellishment that i’m not even sure which instrument is playing what. Zorn and company abuse their instruments so harshly that they simply emit otherworldly sounds and render it impossible for the listener to discern the differences of the sax and guitar. Then the bass and drums finally come in to add some sanity to a serious freak out session.

This album is much more playful as evidenced by the followup to the title track. The 21 second frenetic sax assault “The Ladder” shows the true spirit of punk via jazz and metal and then ushers in more violent and turbulent jazz-metalcore. Zorn astonishes as he makes his alto sax do things unthinkable and creates streams of consciousness that could lead to utter insanity. And add the bombastic drum and bass assaults, it’s utterly maddening. “The Black Chamber” is probably the only snippet of “normal” sax playing as it starts like a recognizable jazz sax type of sound that one would expect in a NYC club of the 60s but of course, nothing stays that “normal” for long in the Zorn world. It becomes another avant-dub type of track with more tortured pig sax squeals that follow. Even the ambient vocal effects sound like possessed pigs seeking revenge as they embrace the powers of the dark side to do so. “The Toll” is another stand out as it begins as an ambient track with a slowly building drum and bass. It is the other track that has guitar and it is used in a conservative way to create an amplified atmospheric presence rather than playing a dominant part. It continues like an avant-doom / sludge metal track with stange guitar and sax craziness. This one actually has vocals.

BURIED SECRETS is a great improvement over the previous “Guts Of Virigns.” There is so much more going on here. While everything from EP one is still in ample supply here, all the tracks don’t sound like they hatched from the same mold. The variations that occur sporadically are a welcome contrast to the more usual suspects. If you’re a fan of the first EP, fear not because all of those slaps in the face are still present and more but on this one, Zorn and company learned the art of ambient enhancement therapy and found new ways to strike terror into the inner ear canals of their fellow homo sapiens. I personally like this second release much better because it contains all of what came before and adds lots of new twists and turns and takes Zorn’s sax torture and incorporates it into a more meaningful way of menacing humanity. This is a dark and tumultuous sonic experience. Once again probably too jazzy for extreme metal heads and too metal for jazz purists but for those who simply want a true tortuous experience that supplicates impeding doom, this is for you.