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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