G&P Review: Achzavoth/Suckinim Baenaim

Achzavoth/Suckinim Baenaim
Split
Urban Decay

And Moses and Aaron came in unto Pharaoh, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, How long wilt thou refuse to humble thyself before me? let my people go, that they may serve me. Else, if thou refuse to let my people go, behold, tomorrow will I bring the locusts into thy coast: and they shall cover the face of the earth, that one cannot be able to see the earth: and they shall eat the residue of that which is escaped, which remaineth unto you from the hail, and shall eat every tree which groweth for you out of the field; and they shall fill thy houses, and the houses of all thy servants, and the houses of all the Egyptians; which neither thy fathers, nor thy fathers' fathers have seen, since the day that they were upon the earth unto this day. And he turned himself, and went out from Pharaoh.
Exodus 10:3-6

If the very thought of The Locust’s spastic keyboard-driven hardcore sets you gnawing drywall, lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch’intrate and all that jazz. Suckinim Baenaim turn in a yoeman’s effort playing downbeat keyboard crunk, but they can’t escape the long shadow of The Locust and based on that comparison alone, you already know if you’ll dig this or detest it. Even the song titles are downright Acrididae in nature. Seriously, “Sometimes I Want to be the Tiny Porid Fly Who Falls in Love” pretty much tells you whether you’ll love or hate this. “Coffee Gives Me Energy But the Stench of Your Corpse Gives Me a Reason to Live” writhes with convulsive, skin crawling keyboards and a sardonic vocal lash.

Suckinim Baenaim – “Coffee Gives Me Energy But the Stench of Your Corpse Gives Me a Reason to Live”

Flipside, things get odder. Achzavoth mind meld stadium rock gong, Shaft-theme high hat and funeral march guitars in the opening 30 seconds and the band launches a space rock odyssey from cobbled together parts scavenged from High on Fire and Boris. At their peak, Achzavoth bring a comforting boogie groove, but when the vocalist wanders away from his Matt Pike impersonation there’s no way of avoiding the fact that his nasally whine is pretty annoying.
While each band ably apes their forebears, I’m still left puzzled as exactly who is the target audience for this split? Is there a cross pollination of The Locus and stoner rock fans out there clamoring to see workmanlike reproductions of better bands square off head to head? If that’s you, this should hit the sweet spot.

[Full disclosure: Urban Decay sent me a download for review.]