And lest you be intimidated by a giant 37-minute track, rest assured that the 11 movements play out very much like traditional songs, with easily understood transitions to mark their passings. You won’t find any choruses, however, so it’s certainly more challenging of a listen than your standard pop album, no matter how you slice it.
The end of “End Days” (“when the empire falls”) is signaled by a piercing Cunningham scream and a move into double-time. Cunningham growls like the dog-men he profiles, as they battle — “it’s blood for oil.” Cycling guitars drive the piece on with a fury, a whip at your back, biting skin.
The anti-war activists who decried the five-year anniversary of the invasion of Iraq last weekend would approve of Ogre’s message, that’s for sure: “And oh, what a deadly foe/Soldiers are killed, blood is spilled/But cars are filled on the road.” The Iraq War is so shitty that mythical wars between dog-men and humans that threaten to wipe all life off the face of the Earth, and are eventually settled by a giant robot fucking a half-woman/half-machine, are not only allegorical, but make more sense.
These guys are smart, from the way Cunningham alters his delivery to fit characters and individual lines (check the delirium in his voice when he cries, “she’s so insane”) to the ripping shot in the arm that is the 30-second “Deus Ex Machina.” The double entendre here would make Shakespeare proud. After meeting in battle, the robot Colossus and digitized Queen of Gasoline decide to, um, combine their efforts.
Colossus: “If you decide, I’ll reside in you.”
Queen: “Come take the ride, inside and astride me.”
On Plague, Ogre are grand and fun, entertaining and interesting. Like few other albums released nowadays, this is a work of art, fully realized and executed. Don’t even think about putting this in for a listen unless you’ve got 37 minutes for undivided attention.
Plague Of The Planet | Released by Ogre, on Leafhound Records
On the Web
www.myspace.com/ogre | www.leafhound.com
Sam Pfeifle can be reached at sam_pfeifle@yahoo.com.
