Not wishing to push my luck any further, I've decided to continue on with another band I know a little about. Admittedly, they come from Northern Ireland, but then, I never said this would not be an examination of all the bands from the island of Ireland, as we're fond of saying here. For those who for some reason may not know, Northern Ireland and its six counties, including its capital city Belfast, are considered part of the United Kingdom and are under the control of the British Government. Simplistically: I don't have the time or desire to go into the ins and outs of Northern Irish politics here. But generally, Northern Ireland is treated as being separate from the rest of Ireland, or Southern Ireland. I'm happy to include them though.
Tiocadh ar la!*
Infernal love --- Therapy? --- 1995 (A&M)
Together for over ten years now, Therapy? (the question mark is very important) have a total of thirteen albums to date, of which this is the fifth. They got harder and darker as time went on, and when I reviewed their latest, “A brief crack of light”, in 2012, I was not impressed. Let's see if their earlier albums were any better.
“Epilepsy” gets us going, with a strangely ambient opening on either feedback guitar or synth, then the guitar blasts right to the fore as the song gets going. Seems at this point Therapy? were a three-piece, and guitars and vocals are handled at this time by Andy Cairns, also founder of the band. Can't say I think too much of this to be honest: seems a little disjointed. The title of the album is repeated over and over again, so I guess in a way this is the title track. Nice bass run there from Michael McKeegan, then Fyfe Ewing punches the drums up again as the song pounds towards its conclusion.
With the sound of what seems to be a radio being tuned to different stations as a guitar riffs in between, “Stories” initially at least sounds like it's a bit more cohesive, with a sort of mixture of the Jam and the Clash in its rhythm. Therapy? reportedly have a lot of punk influences in their music, and this is certainly evident in the vocal delivery, though here it's a bit more together. More of a --- say it with me --- melody. Nice solo there from Cairns. “A moment of clarity” dials back the chaos for a moment with what certainly sounds like a keyboard, though none is shown. Nice slow simple guitar and Cairns's vocal is gentle and even.
The guitar then gets harder but the tempo remains mostly the same, so I'm not so sure I can write this off as not being the ballad I thought it might have been. Yeah, I think it can qualify. Very nice. Passionate vocal, sharp but somehow soft guitars. It's also one of the longer songs, just over six minutes. I must admit, I smiled at the title “Jude the obscene”: very clever. It of course kicks the tempo back up, but not all that much. Good vocal too, and after the discordance of the first track things seem to have settled down rather nicely. This has a good chugging guitar and some smooth riffing too. Like the hook in the song, but I must admit it has traces of U2 about it. There's a chance for McKeegan to swap his bass for a lead guitar in “Bowels of love”, the song an understated one, almost balladic and featuring the first appearance of cello, courtesy of Martin McCarrick. A contender for standout with “A moment of clarity”, this one easily takes top slot. Just wonderful.
With the sound of a helicopter swooping in and then gunfire, for a moment I think I'm listening to Def Leppard's “Die hard the hunter”, but then a big angry guitar and rattling drums carry us into “Misery”, with a sort of drawled vocal from Cairns, those punk tinges coming back in after a rather long break. Good rocking beat, again a decent hook. I very much like the guitar that gets “Bad mother” underway, sort of a Duane Eddy feel to it? Really rocks along with enthusiasm and energy, very enjoyable. Love the way it slows right down near the end allowing McKeegan to display his considerable prowess on the bass, and Ewing to create some pretty amazing sounds on his kit. This takes us into “Me vs You”, which is in fact the longest track, just under six and a half minutes.
A slow, kind of ominous start, with single drum beats behind a lonely guitar then an almost Peter Gabriel style vocal before the song explodes in anger and power, seeming to be an exchange between a couple, the girl presumably behind the door on which the man is banging, trying to get in, this being symbolised by the slow, pounding drum beats. Creates quite an uncomfortable atmosphere, as if some act of violence is about to be perpetrated. Great guitar work as well as a smouldering, almost evil vocal from Cairns. Another standout? You bet your ass. Some strange synthy-style effects then near the end and Ewing brings in a kind of conga drum routine and then we pile into “Loose”, a good uptempo and sort of happy rocker. Quite commercial, would have made a decent single. Really like this one too.
I definitely like this earlier incarnation of Therapy? After the first track I wasn't sure, but now I can see that they make, or made, really good music that fully deserves to be better known outside of Ireland, but isn't. Next up is the only cover on the album, with a dark piano note (come on, it has to be piano!) their version of Husker Du's “Diane” is cloying, claustrophobic and reintroduces Martin McCarrick on that beautiful cello. Either his work is multi-tracked or there are violins in there too, but it's pretty amazing. Chilling lyric though:
”We could cruise down Robert Street all night long/ But I think I'll just rape you/ And kill you instead.” Whoa! Nick Cave, eat your heart out, huh?
And that has to be another standout. Leaving us with just one track to close on, the frenetic and somewhat repetitive but great fun “30 seconds” which somehow is a fitting close to a really good album, with its punk/rockabilly hybrid brand of unrestrained energy and adventure. Class!
TRACKLISTING
1.Epilepsy
2. Stories
3. A moment of clarity
4. Jude the obscene
5. Bowels of love
6. Misery
7. Bad mother
8. Me vs you
9. Loose
10. Diane
11. 30 seconds
Just goes to show how a little experience can change your opinion of a band. When I listened to "A brief crack of light", back in 2012, I hated it. I hated the vocals. I hated the music. But now that I've been properly weaned on the likes of Slayer, Metallica, Viking and black metal, I think I could appreciate that album more now if I listened to it again. Mind you, the vocals here are totally different to what I remember on their latest album.
Even so, it's easy to see why Therapy? have lasted as long as they have in the Irish metal scene, and why they're still regarded as one of the premier metal bands to come out of the shores of my native land.
* "Tiocaidh ar la" (chucky or law) means literally "Our day will come" and is used, or was used, as a rallying cry by Irish nationalists, including the IRA, as a promise and a threat. It's still kind of used around here from time to time, mostly tongue-in-cheek.