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Tarantula A.D. Book of Sand music review
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Tarantula A.D. Book of Sand
Kemado
Classical punk. Not classic punk (Sex Pistols, Buzzcocks, Ramones). No, classical punk. I.e., Beethoven with a Mohawk. Chopin with a nose ring. Something to that extent.
Track listing:
01 Century Trilogy, Pt. 1: Conquest
02 Who Took Berlin, Pt. 1
03 Who Took Berlin, Pt. 2
04 Sealake
05 Century Trilogy, Pt. 2: Empire
06 Prelude to the Fall
07 Lost Waltz
08 Riverpond
09 Palo Borracho
10 Century Trilogy, Pt. 3: The Fall
Because classical punk is the best description of Tarantula A.D.’s release Book of Sand. Borrowing heavily from the works of composers like Samuel Barber, Tarantula A.D. works within a format of churning, violent guitar riffs and lyric-less songs. Instead of words, they rely on backing vocals and extreme instrumental freakouts to set the mood of apocalyptic despair.
The trio behind Tarantula A.D. handle drums, bass, vocals, cello, piano, and… glockenspiel. You’d think that with all these conflicting influences, Book of Sand would be akin to the head-bangers’ classical ball, wherein metal kids with mullets meet the upper-class opera fans. Well, things manage to mesh just all well, and Book of Sand is an intriguing if ultimately unmoving record.
You cannot accuse Tarantula A.D. of being aiming too high. They title their songs after trilogies, and have songs like “Who Took Berlin, Part I” and “Part II.” The music runs the full gamut from primal (scream-less) violence (“The Century Trilogy I: Conquest”) to quiet, piano-driven pieces (“Prelude to the Fall”). They employ instant-cool space-folker Devendra Bernhart to add Eastern warbling to “The Century Trilogy III: The Fall” and take Sierra Casady of CocoRosie for vocal addition to the lovely “Sealake.”
Perhaps that’s the problem though, Tarantula A.D. are simply too damn ambitious. They want to meld metal, prog, and classical, and we saw how well that turned out in the 1970s. The album never really comes together to move the listener, it sounds as though the trio had a meeting and decided to be a band whom journalists would always describe as “eccentric,” “quirky” and “mavericks.” Well, Tarantula A.D. may be all those things but they also come off as “uneven,” “overblown,” and “pretentious.” Songs like “The Century Trilogy II: Empire” leap from high-flying power metal to orchestral lushness clumsily, and after 52 minutes of this, monotony begins setting in.
Still, in a world where one three-minute pop song is considered a triumph, something this decidedly bold is always appreciated. In short, good effort, but let’s consider trimming the 5 minute guitar solos, hmm?
