Issue
#148
Jul. '11
The story is
simple, the layers intense.
Beekeeper
Constellation, the 3rd release by
Portland, Oregon’s
Prog-Psych-Metal masters Oxcart,
takes the loose concept lp format of their 2nd
release, 2009’s The
Equation (the 2009
IndepenDisc of the Year), and tightens it into an epic
musical
event which underlines the importance of bees (and consequently,
Beekeepers) to
the survival of not only the human race, and the planet (ecosystem),
but also the
realistic threat of the vanishing of the bees, and the self-destructive
mindset
of our populace.
There are those who (rightfully) believe that bees control
the fate of the world, without bees to cross-pollinate, life, as we
know it,
would not exist. Thus the Beekeepers are one of the single most
important
people on earth, they hold within their realm the ability to preserve,
or
alter, life. Oxcart has taken this
very real scenario (for more on this, check out http://www.vanishingbees.com/
) added
the complexities of human emotion, the horrors of war, isolation,
righteousness, and fallibility to expand our understanding of our
responsibilities to all aspects of nature.
Opening with the sounds of a medieval march, Drawbridge
gets us up close and poised for an epic confrontation. Using
blood-pumping,
melodic metal this forewarning clashing of iron launches us into Delusions,
a Smashing Pumpkins type metal awesomeness – spacing
delicately with hard jams
– that worships at the alter of Pink Floyd. Brandishing a
rhythm section that
would make most metal guitarists jealous, this opus of false prophets
sets the
stage for the rock show to come. What’s to happen to the
young, naive,
idealistic beekeeper who is unwillingly thrust into war?
The next 5 songs of the story build up and tear apart
everything that our beekeeper has ever experienced. The Light starts the
process with a solo piano laying bare the innocence lost as the heavy
reverb
guitar and breathy, heart-breaking vocals transcribe the realization
that
nothing will ever be the same again. Done with great Pink Floyd style
production work and metal chops reminiscent of Metalica, Queens
of the Stoneage, and Smashing Pumpkins, we are sucked into the plight.
Sounding
like Blue Oyster Cult and AC/DC on steroids, Zenith
aggressively hurls us forward before we
have a chance to ask/question what is happening. Taken right into Ember
there is a tentative caution, a slow echo sets the eerie pre/post
battle tone.
The mind is slowly burning as the madness and horrors of war seep into
the
beekeepers consciousness. The ending “Fire,
fire, fire” refrain smolders into the brain as Ember
catches into Fire,
a metal masterpiece that burns into our heads with mind numbing guitar
hooks
and a killer rhythm. Here, in the hell of war, is where the beekeeper
loses
himself, this attack is not only an assault on his humanity, but on
humanity as
a whole. With a Jimi Hendrix guitar wailing, “Fire,
Fire Now,” can be his orders to pull the trigger or
his
interpretation/reaction to what is consuming him upon multiple
battlefields. Possum
lays low, it’s an astral, surreal dreamlike state;
it’s over, is it really
over? He’s playing dead “Afraid
of almost
death/Living is hard.” He hopes it’s
over, but in this trippy ride of
Doors, Pink Floyd, God Is An Astronaut, and Mahavishnu Orchestra all
rolled
into one, we realize that it is not, that he will forever carry the
damage
inflicted upon and within him.
Nationalism Anthem
begins with that eerie Pink Floyd Wish You Were Here/Welcome To The
Machine
feel. It weaves a synth-industrial techno sound with The Jimi Hendrix
Experience and takes us on a 7 minute journey of a lifetime. The
buzzing bees
invade our consciousness, warning us what’s to come; the
political propaganda
intended to divert our attention away from the gods of war and towards
patriotism serves only as a reminder of the mythological truth and the
intense novel-like
depth/layers of the story. War is hell, and The Beekeeper has been
destroyed by
it, tragically he must choose whether or not to continue to serve/save
the same
species that is responsible for so much destruction. It is not only the
destruction of nature (the nature that supplies us with life), and
human life,
but the destruction of the nature of humanity that has created his
moral
dilemma.
The
Beekeeper quickly establishes the
presence of his anger and
just as quickly dives into his madness -
“Left
alone is the Beekeeper.”
Even the machines of war acknowledge the ancient mythological respect
for him,
for it is The Beekeeper who holds the fate of humanity in his hands,
yet, he
finds it “Hard to carry on.”
The
music tracks from lounge piano to metal guitar and back to a Bacharach
style
piano solo to close, it perfectly executes the intense struggles The
Beekeeper
must rationalize through as his companionship with the bees and the
universal
meaning/consequences of his constellation weigh heavy on his heart and
mind.
After everything that The Beekeeper has been through, Speakeasy just lays it out
there with a definitive Pink Floyd arrangement. The drum
rolls and rhythmic swells take the guitar solo to heights unimagined
– what
rabbit hole has The Beekeeper/Humanity fallen down? – as Oxcart displays the dexterity of a jam
band (with intense piano),
while pushing the boundaries of progressive and melodic metal. By the
time the
voice over kicks in, we’re drifting away with the
understanding of the folk
lore to protect the role of The Beekeeper as the keeper of life
– all life, and
how the fragile state of nature and humanity hangs in the balance, as
well as
the stars.
Beekeeper
Constellation by Oxcart,
The story is simple, the layers intense.
Beekeeper
Constellation by Oxcart
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