Album Review: Boobs of Doom – PeacE ON eARTh (Self Released)

12 albums. 12 months. Throughout ALL of 2019.

What a plan from Boobs of Doom, a sensational amalgamation of depressive drone, doom, death, distortion and much more. Their 12 albums, 12-month plan is something truly unique and it has certainly got our attention. However, the reasoning behind it is best described by the band themselves:

“Five years weev been at this. Still not dead yet; which is surprising to us considering the lengths those years went to to try and break us. 2018 was a proper hateful cunt-lump of a year for us Boobs: We lost too many furbabies; too many funerals; too many abhorrent political crooks running the shitshow (THE FILTH!); too many bloody horrible sheeple complicitly lapping up the shite (THE SCUM); rapidly declining chronic health issues, diseases and new afflictions; and far FAR too much fucking PAIN!

Squinting out at the world in 2018 from a haze of brainfog, canabis and prescription painkillers, we never thought we’d get so fatigued hating stupid stuff, but everything fatigues us these days. which amounted to only one cassette release (YO, ODD CHORUS PEEPS!) and a 2 track album for charidee. The only thing we were really thankful to 2018 for was all the support for Carrie’s Fund. Carrie hit her gofundme target and got the surgery she needed. Fuck knows how we’d have handled it if she hadn’t. Regardless, thankya-hjoojbig to all the BODies who contributed or helped spread the word.

We digress.

Time was we had a reputation for being prolific and could punt oot anything up to 4 albums (and a mixtape in a pear tree!) per year. Circumstances being what they are, our output was waaaay below our weird self-imposed projections/deadlines.

In lieu of all this we ought to be planning our jump off some high cliffs, but no. We have elected to celebrate 5 years as a band instead. so, here it is:

In reality, we embedded secret knowledge, subliminal messages, psychic vampirism and theta wave manipulation into one great big 13 hour long album, chopped into chunks and are dribbling them out over the year. The concept is that if it gets enough simultaneous listeners, the themes and ideas encoded within the music and art will resonate on a global scale and kickstart the next strange stage of human (r)evolution! Unless yr a Greedhead or the FILTH, in that case yr head will explode. Cool, huh? Grand concepts R US. LOL. Weer setting ourselves up to fail but that’s okay.

In practice, each ‘album ‘(..,’episode’, ‘segment’ or whatever pretentious bollocks title we eventually decide is cannon) will be musically and thematically different from the last and you should come to recognise them each as a different aspect of our oeuvre; psychedelic / dub / heavy / drone / soundtrack / doom etcetera. There’s even a ‘pop’ album. 12 of the fuckers. Yaaaas. You lucky BODies! We’ll warn ye now: this shit might fuck you up …in a good way ….maybe…

Part one, entitled “esc.” was January’s release and you can read our review here. February’s was Terror Management Theory at you can read that review here. Aonach Eagach was March’s entry and you can read that review here. April’s release was called wEIRD aRT rIOT and you can read that review here. May’s release was called Sorcerer and you can read that review here.

Which brings us to the half way point. June’s release was called Skeleton Jazz Wizard and you can read that review here. July’s release was called Endless Doomlord Syndrome and you can read that review here. August’s release was called Sedation of the Ancients and you can read that review here. September’s release was called Universal Monsters and you can read that review here. October’s release was called Self-Defence for Victim-Shamers and you can read that review here. November saw WE HAVE YOU NOW (a doom hop mega mixtape by Boobs of DOOM) arrive and you can read that review here.

…and so if must end.

I’d be lying if I didn’t say listening to the final part of Boobs of Doom’s 12-month expansive doom/drone/electronica effort made me a little emotional. At the start of 2019 I’d never heard of this Scottish duo and when I got the email through asking for GBHBL to review what was ‘esc‘ I wasn’t hopeful. After all I have a difficult time with drone and always consider any effort that describes itself as such to be one that probably isn’t going to mesh well with my tastes.

I do like drone but I don’t love it. However, over the course of a year and with 12 albums heard (1 a month) I find myself with a new appreciation of that style of music. Not just that but I think I understand it more and that is all thanks to Boobs of Doom.

It’s not been an easy ride as not every album has resonated with me in quite the same way but it has been an interesting and entertaining ride.

…and so it must end.

PeacE ON eARTh is the final album of the ‘THE KOZMIC COGNITIVE DISSONANCE INCEPTION ENGINE’ and has a sort of December/Christmas theme running through. Albeit in the unique way that Boobs of Doom showcase this.

It’s a gorgeous start too as THIS IS YOUR LIFE is hauntingly sad and reflective. It’s the end of the journey and it puts a sad smile on the face. The mixing part at the start disappearing into the ether for a cold sound that is as empty as the deepest and darkest parts of time and space.

No time to reflect on that though as Boobs of Doom remind just why they are such an eclectic offering.

Wealth and Hellbeing is over 30 minutes long. Yes, you read that correctly.

Where do you even begin to describe this? Do you like madness inducing noise? Enduring coldness that has horrible things in the dark salivating for the opportunity to feed on your soft brain matter? The feeling of never-ending nothingness punctuated with crashes of deafening and blinding noise? How about release that takes you to the emotional limits? You do?! Perfect. This is the most impressive ‘epic’ that Boobs of Doom have done this year.

We’re not done yet though. That is Not Black Snow echoes, the ripple of uncomfortable fuzz just on the edge of notes with a descent into what can be best described as a hazy drug-trip of colours, lights and sounds. Black X-mass ‘84 or Angels on Fire Over Scarsberry Hill lays the sombre darkness on thickly taking its sweet time to reveal the feedback-laden crawling death-noise.

THIS IS YOUR LIFE ON DRUGS is incoherent at first, the droning noise seemingly going nowhere and then, as Boobs of Doom has consistently proved, there’s way more in the tank. The coldness that was present in the sister opening track is back and its even icier then before.

…and so if must end.

One last track with the baffling title of Ddeathdestroyer (Castigat Ridendo Mores to Infinity). Should we except anything but one last madness inducing listen? Of course not but the subtly of this finale is worthy of praise. Barely there at first, the recorded voice cuts through like a hot knife through butter and then the melody starts. Talk about tear-jerking. The sadness drips from this melody like melting snow at the side of the road. It’s handled with such an impressively deft touch and is the perfect way to end not just the record but the KCDIE project.

…and so it ends.

Cheers Boobs of Doom.

Boobs of Doom – PeacE ON eARTh Full Track Listing:

1. THIS IS YOUR LIFE
2. Wealth and Hellbeing
3. That is Not Black Snow
4. Black X-mass ‘84 or Angels on Fire Over Scarsberry Hill
5. THIS IS YOUR LIFE ON DRUGS
6. Ddeathdestroyer (Castigat Ridendo Mores to Infinity)

Links

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