The debut album from Ninja Tune’s Dylan Richards, also known to the public as the black hearted King Cannibal, throws anything from dubstep and drum & bass to dancehall and industrial electronica into the blender. Basically... if its got bass and a rudeboy attitude it’ll be included and touched on somewhere across the breadth of ‘Let The Night Roar.’
The album starts in a cinematic fashion with the intro dropping into the monstrous ‘Aragami Style’ who’s harsh bass and cut up breaks harbour so much pent up energy and frightened angst, that its no surprise people like Amon Tobin have gone on record to register their passion for its tear out stance. ‘Murder Us’ with Jahcoozi, a dark growling horror sound track that wouldn’t have been out of place on the Bug’s dystopian long player ‘London Zoo’ proves to be another highlight; but, and its a subtle pacifier, where The Bug used a warm hazy atmosphere King Cannibal employs a crisp, sharp sensibility, pushing perfectly EQed perforated drum patterns through his dark cloak of blackness.
Richards does provide a little lightness though, piercing the foreboding mood with the bumping Face A Face vocalled ‘Virgo’ and the fantastically deep ‘So…Embrace The Minimum,’ which wouldn’t feel out of place if it was played deep in the belly of Berghain. The album really does rely on Richards crisp, lush level of production, creating some deeply twisted tracks that incorporate an obvious love for field recordings and mutilating film samples.
Sometimes the relentless aggression does get a bit too much, particularly on ‘Colder Still’ where the full on breaks and appearance of a ranting goblin seemingly sent from Lucifer himself, tips it just over the edge of listenable. Things do get back on track though with the mad industrial break beat swing of ‘A Shining Force’ and ‘The Untitled’ with its nervous skittish rattle that really does manage to spark a pang of paranoia before the scuzzy feedback drenched distortion of ‘Onward Vultures’ brings an eerie calm to the first full length King Cannibal experience.
Words: James Balf
Out: Now
Link:
www.myspace.com/kingcannibal
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