Description

White vinyl with lyric insert. Limited 111 numbered copies

The Swedish one-man black metal space opera act Oxiplegatz was headed by Alf Svensson who had been involved with acts such as Grotesque, At The Gates and Diabolique. The second album “Worlds And Worlds” is a madcap mix of speedy blast-beat programmed drumming, heavy rocking post-black metal guitars, massive droning-hornet synthesisers, blaring synth brass horns and all the other demented accoutrements that keyboard-generated faux orchestras can offer, along with an array of vocal styles that slip back and forwards from black metal rasp to guttural death metal to girlie pop (courtesy of Svensson’s missus – true love comes in handy, don’t it?) Z-grade hit-n-miss operatic without warning or good reason as to why such styles of singing should appear when they do. Songs lurch about from one gritty power metal guitar riff or ersatz classical music melody to the next and one vocal style to the next – the album isn’t clear as to why Ms Svensson had to be roped in to sing since there are no duets in which male and female voices play protagonist and antagonist – so the whole album comes across as an overwhelming mess of loony pulp sci-fi fiction inspiration and pyrotechnical theatrics about an extended voyage in outer space. At least Alf Svensson is consistent as an all-round musician, composer and arranger: his skill in playing different musical genres across a broad range of instruments and studio recording equipment is top-notch, and his ability to co-ordinate the varying styles of black metal, death metal, power metal, hard rock, synth cheese, girlie pop, lounge lizard male crooning and B-grade sci-fi soundtrack music into one flowing whole is so extraordinary as to be unbelievable, at least until it’s heard. What saves this album from falling into outright kitsch bombast turns out to be a great deal: large injections of blackened death metal impose some discipline as does a minimal and clean production. The Svenssons do not take themselves or their subject matter of Earthlings questing among the stars like Vikings in jet-packs, finding other planets to colonise, too seriously. There might be a satirical dig here at narratives (be they literary, cinematic or real life) of colonial conquest and subjugation of the aboriginals of conquered territories, and of the language, symbols and music that accompany such narratives and mythologies. If you’re in the mood for deranged hilarious space metal opera and can swallow loads of rich casein that coming with that without barfing it all up afterwards, this album was made just for you.

Track list:
1. Battle Of Species
2. First Contact, Conflict
3. Aftermath
4. Quest
5. Graveyard Dream
6. Usurpers
7. The End Is Nigh
8. Abandon Earth
9. Journey