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Bathing in Bibilic Blood

I see you have six fingers on your right hand. I know someone who's looking for you.The self-released debut from cryptic Ohio doomers Bibilic Blood has been sitting on the to-review pile for longer than I?d care to admit at this point, and that?s because, frankly, I haven?t been sure what the hell to say about it. A duo with a demented take on lo-fi riffing who recorded a nine song full-length in their bassist?s living room over the course of a year and named it, Z?Ha?Doom in partial homage to the planet Z?Ha?Dum from Babylon 5 (thanks Wikipedia), their sound is ugly sans alibi and fucked six ways from Sunday. What do you say about a band that thanks the crew from Star Trek: The Next Generation, individually, member by member, in their liner notes?

I?ve seen two reviews of Z?Ha?Doom in my interweb perusing. The first was an indulgent, fully-bought-in exercise in imagistic hyperbole — nothing against it, that stuff is fun sometimes, but it doesn?t say much about the actual album. The second was a careful analysis by Jay Snyder of Hellride Music, who went through and diligently analyzed each move Bibilic Blood makes over the course of the record. While I?ve been known to partake of the occasional hyperbole myself and certainly respect the passion, precision and talent in Snyder?s work in that review and beyond, I?m not sure either extreme is the answer.

In the woods.So what to do with Z?Ha?Doom? Well, with any offering that can?t be so easily pigeonholed, there?s bound to be a certain amount of (at least theoretical) excitement, and that certainly holds true for Bibilic Blood?s first outing. Bassist/vocalist Suzy Psycho and drummer/guitarist Wizard take the black metal penchant for underproduction to extremes and distill doom to its very essence: riffs and crashes. Even a cover of ?Symptom of the Universe? comes out sounding like something a garage band wrote 15 minutes prior to hitting record. That definitely has its appeal, and likewise for the simplicity of ?Burn,? ?Drugs,? ?Now I?m Dead? and ?Love Song,? which immediately follows ?Hate You,? Corey Bing (Fistula) guesting there on drums and screams.

Obsidian Order There?s a tongue-in-cheek element to the band easily, but the question is whether or not the ?insanity? presented is genuine. Just how psycho is Suzy? If we?re going by the sound of her moaning, wailing vocals, pretty damn psycho. The undercurrent of weird in the music is unsettling throughout, Bibilic Blood sounding like a drugged-out tragedy rather than the good-time stonerisms that are so prevalent in the scene. If this is a party, it?s the later one from Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, where reality is revealed as a sham and the sexual and chemical nihilism that?s been so pervasive finally wins out. It?s like meth mouth.

Of course, a meth mouth sonic aesthetic is going to appeal to some people, and there are those who will listen purely because of how fucked up it is, but to put it lightly, Z?Ha?Doom is not for everyone. It is a troubling, uncomfortable listen. Unpleasing to the ear. But if punishment is your bag, then Bibilic Blood are happy to oblige. One only wonders if they can keep this up across another record, and how an album might sound if they were to record it somewhere other than next to the couch.

Bibilic Blood on MySpace

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