Larva - Und sie aßen sich selbst

Spanish Dark Electro project "Larva" has always been a hugely, hugely hit and miss band. Fans of the scene either love, or struggle to really understand this act.

"Und sie aßen sich selbst" is Larva's Sixth release, and First on Danse Macabre. Roughly translated to "And They ate themselves", my preconceptions of a more mellowed and tactful sound have been blown away like a Hurricane.
In tandem with the previous Larva releases, "Ser diferente" opens with a really slow Piano piece, and keeps a slow, almost funereal tempo, but uses the Gorgon-like shrieking vocals of "inqUesT" to their most hateful and poisonous effect.

Previous Larva albums have all been of particular enjoyment to me, although admittedly, I've not found one album yet that stays on this level all the way through. 2010's "Voces Del Laberinto" was a masterpiece, and the ever-so-slightly unsubtle title "Coat Hanger Abortion" was the shotgun to the face that bands of this genre take great pleasure of being famous for.

I expect this album to be good in places, with weak moments, and an overall feeling of melancholy - past releases would have all scored somewhere between a 6 and 7, weak tracks determining the overall rating.

Two tracks into this serving of self-cannibalism, I almost find myself wanting to spit my Arm back out in amazement : "Amargura" is a decent track as well - this is the rare kind of Dark Electro that stays nice and slow, yet still hits you in the Cranium like a come shot from an Uzi 9mm.

I generally have a huge issue with the fact that Spanish speaking bands in this genre tend to label all of their songs in Spanish - understandable, but everyone else tries to "Go English" - It's not always fun translating song titles. There's a couple of English titles here, and a couple of Japanese ones in addition - the concept is blurry, but with a title like "And they Ate themselves", and a song entitled "Aokigahara" (1) , you're not gonna really care about the titles - it's probably better you don't know the translations.

It's easy to overlook this however, when Larva is doing everything correctly. The Bass on "La maldad se encuentra en ti" is as thumping as a Giant masturbating in a room above you, the sample of a woman sobbing during "Lagrimas amargas" is probably enough to make half of this sites readers go upstairs and join in with the Giant, and the slow Tempo and ill-tempered and cold Drums really nail home the feeling of the release.

This could almost be the Black Metal album that never was - fans often listen to Darkthrone, Burzum, and similar bands in the Summer, because the music is so cold it almost cools you down (Allegedly, don't shoot the Journalist). This release has that feeling running through it like a Norwegian Avalanche.

Five tracks in, and i'm much, much more impressed with the development and evolution of Larva - the project hasn't lost any of its subtlety, and if you were hoping to avoid the bleakness of earlier releases, you're out of luck. This is still as depressing and mood-killing as a ruined orgasm after four previous ones, but that's often the intent of Dark Electro.

Previously mentioned "Aokigahara" is for me the stand out track here, and has taken a very sensitive and (arguably) honourable concept, and given it the correct respect. The sample at the beginning isn't understandable to me, but the gentle instrumentation preceding the music is enough to make you bow your heads in respect. At 6:52, it's also the longest track on here.

None of the Eight following tracks are poor, and "A Piece of me is Dying" is quite possibly the best way an artist has ever inadvertently summed up his music.

I can't ask everyone to check this out, you need to be made of strong stuff, or at least have the emotional capacity of a Wing nut to make it through this release, but as I was raised by fellow Wing nuts, and used to attempt to play "Goodbye Cruel World" loudly, 30 times a day, I'm as good as immune. The things you do as a teenager, eh?

A welcome addition to the Danse Macabre roster, and to my collection.

(1) - Aokigahara is one of the most creepy places on Earth. It's a forest located very close to Mt Fuji in Japan, it's associated with Demons in local Mythology, it's deadly silent at all times due to the Trees blocking out all wind, and it's also devoid of all wildlife (Maybe the 100 suicides a year contribute to that) - bodies are found by visitors on a regular basis. May 20 2011