LP Review: "Earthquake" by Canker

Earthquake

There are a great many things that have left a mark on my very soul.

Many times it's something silly that really shouldn't be remembered, but cannot be forgotten.

Today's case in point is the movie Amadeus.

Frankly, it's unclear how much of that movie is remotely accurate and made up of so much spun yarn, but that's not the point.

Though it did get me through nearly a week of Music class in 8th Grade, i.e. the last time I saw this movie.

For some reason, the harpsichord features prominently in this particular film. That's not an instrument one hears very often. My introduction was in The Addams Family which gave it a particularly creepy vibe.

Canker

Lurch sitting at the keys and playing a tune. At the time, the word harpsichord was unknown to me. This was just a creepy instrument being played by a creepy bloke.

So, let's begin at the beginning. Canker has dethroned King Diamond as the most metal harpischord players in the world. Coincidentally, both artists only used this most glorious instrument sparingly.

Whereas the latter only used the plucked tones on The Spider's Lullabye, the former only saw fit to infect one song.

The use of the harpsichord is a metaphor for the entirety of Earthquake. There are a great many different sounds used on this album, but seemingly none of them are ever used more than once. There's the really epic electronically charged percussion solo too.

When there isn't unusual instrumentation, what's there is a strong, grooved out, death metal album. The standard tropes are juxtaposed against wild varieties. Canker speaks with many different tongues.

Earthquake is the death metal album you've been waiting for.

Release: 9/18/17
Genre: Death Metal
Label: Xtreem Music
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