March 13, 2010

Reviewer: Chris

It’s always a pleasure as a man nearing forty to hear the occasional CD that makes you sit up a little straighter in your chair, cock your eyebrows a bit in a knowing manner, and just generally enjoy the CD. Those little moments seem fewer and farther between these days, especially from bands from the home sector. If it isn’t some mallcore inanity of a Shadows Fall/In Flames rip off, it’s some emo/gothic wannabes killing time and my ears with the most pedestrian sounds I’ve heard in two decades. So when a band emerges from San Francisco and manages to attract and keep my interest, as in the case of Ludicra, I’m only too happy to indulge myself accordingly.

I’m familiar with the band, especially the vastly underrated Hollow Psalms from ’02. However, it’s the current release, The Tenant, leading the listener back into the band’s progressive black metal lair with some interesting and inspired results. Vocalist Laurie Sue Shanaman’s deliveries fall effortlessly over the music like a fine wool blanket on a dark and cold winter evening, so much so that the consummation feels subtly perfect. Her vocal ability far outlasts Angela Gossow in both style and resonance in that it doesn’t seem forced or thin. The music of a “prog-black” effort is not so much a complement as it is a necessary meshing of two forces that are seemingly perfect for one another. Shanaman’s vocals are neither boring nor annoying, and it’s rare I can lay out that particular placemat these days. She’s just cool to listen to, nothing fancy or particular. In what can also be deemed a prog/black/doom effort, The Tenant can assume the kinship of Black Sabbath while taking the modernization of a Slough Feg or Agalloch. This is a fitting description seeing as Agalloch’s drummer Aesop Dekker lends his talents and Feg’s John Cobbett handles guitar duties alongside guitarist Christy Cather. Ross Sewage rounds out the fold on bass, and together they collectively entertain and impress the metal fan in need of some home cooking with punch.

So The Tenant naturally picks up where 2006’s Fex Urbis Lex Orbis leaves off, only The Tenant travels beyond the first four releases by combining so much musical mastery it leaves one to wonder how a band like this has yet to find a larger audience. The prog fans can dig this, as well as Opeth, Dream Theater, Agalloch and doom metal fans. There can quite literally be something for anyone in here, as musically the band is both interesting and entertaining, leaving very little doubt as to the ability and talents of this group. It seems so much solid metal is emerging from the west coast of late (maybe it’s just that we here in Illinois are glad to see anything good float our way), and Ludicra takes a black metal curtain and manages to sew extra elements into it, creating a progressive black hybrid that seems to be catching on with both fans and bands alike. If the United States can be noted for anything with recent metal contributions, let it be this particular marriage because I don’t think the Norway or Sweden black scenes have enough going for them to manage this type of honesty or musical foundation. This is all homegrown, baby!

Release Date: March 3, 2010
Label: Profound Lore   

TRACK LISTING

1.  Stagnant Pond
2.  A Larger Silence
3.  In Stable
4.  The Undercaste
5.  Clean White Void
6.  Truth Won't Set You Free
7.  The Tenant

Total playing time:  50:39

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Ludicra - The Tenant