Here is Minotaur’s teeth, the brand new album by Love Spiral from Oakland, California. They describe themselves as a “4-piece crossover screamo band singing about sad stuff and trans liberation.”
It is worth mentioning their statement from their Bandcamp profile:
“This album is a reflection of many lives and loves – lived, loved, or otherwise – and is a collection of stories, poetry, and streams of queer consciousness dedicated to our friends and ourselves. This album is a product of reflections spanning a great distance of time, especially frustrations during the time of quarantine —a response to the fear forced on us, the laws imposed on us —and is ultimately meant to demand liberation and celebrate joy for the trans community. There are also themes of sobriety, love letters to past selves, and celebration of living full truths.”
I can’t tell you how happy I was to read it. “Extreme” music in general, and hip hop in particular, has been a vehicle for expressing anger, voicing resistance, and affirming the will and struggle for sociopolitical change. Obviously, one of the most repressed groups of people in the past decade has been trans people, who have been bullied, terrorised and marginalised with particular hatred from the establishments and the powers that be. Coming from the US, given the current surreal-dystopian situation, a band that reflects this struggle in their art is needed more than ever!
As for the music, here goes: You say screamo, I say prog death. More or less! But the ‘crossover’ part of the band’s description is the most telling here. It intersects with death and thrash metal (it actually reminds me of the bands Death and Cynic in many moments, and just to be clear, from a metal head, that is praise of the highest calibre), punk, post – you name it.
This MUST have been recorded live to some extent, because there are crescendos and slow downs executed perfectly, as well as great dynamic range. The bass is working overtime on every single song, with a melodic and metallic sound, the drums are going fr it, from intricate poly rhythm patterns to straightforward (and awesome!) blastbeats, the guitars are riffing in top form and with precision, the song structures are yummy, and all this with a solid mixing/mastering to go with it.
These kids reaaaally know how to play their instruments, and they sound very well rehearsed. I would love to see them play live!
Did you think I forgot about the vocals?? Hellz no! It is the absolute icing on the cake. The singer screams with passion, anger, and intensity (not to mention technique) that is very suitable to the album’s concept.
I listened to their demo, out of curiosity, and in terms of sound production, they have come a long way. I am sure their next album will be even greater, and I wish them all the best in their music career. I also raise my fist in solidarity with their cause and fight.
Venceremos, my friends.
Written by Spiros Maus
