Artist: Zappedüster
Title: Näbelschlucker
Type: EP
Label: Digital / Urtod Void
Well this charming little EP of Swiss origin was chanced upon totally randomly due to a post from the label above so, nope not a clue but as I do I thought ‘hey give it a couple of minutes’ and so I hunted it out on Bandcamp and…
Well first of all the prize for more umlauts than a Motorhead convention is surely awarded here, also the ‘Fuck You Internet Translation’ award to Google so if their name does indeed mean ‘pitch black’ that’s by sheer luck. Also the EP might mean ‘fog swallower’ or just someone who gets drunk easily. Or both. Answers on a gentle message to the usual place…
Ahem.
‘Ankebattler’ is a slow slightly ominous keyboard passage, an intro that sounds strangely archaic, almost like a silent horror film soundtrack. A gaggle of voices sounding somewhat argumentative pipe up and we launch into the title track. The riff is curiously early Slegest like; very black metal spliced with a punk looseness and devil may care feel. The vocals are snarled and gabbled and wonderfully insane in places and the guitar work twists between black metal and the punk/almost Motorhead drive. It’s infectious as hell and something about it just makes me grin. Hey, not know what the hell its on about this might be entirely inappropriate but, damn there is a real gleeful insanity here. For an essentially pink metal ride it manages it’s six minute length admirably too.
‘Sargnägel, Chlöpfer und Bränz’ begins with our slightly unhinged sounding fellows probably casting aspertions on three people. Hey I can guess. Anyway this sounds like a bunch of drunks reciting a cautionary tale in a village tavern, which as you all should realise is A Very Good Thing Indeed. With vocals almost tripping over themselves and a chaotic rabble of a riff it’s another winner. Speed punk riffing, a huge sense of energy and some deceptively dextrous playing all add to the feel of ‘don’t give a fuck and, oh, we haven’t washed for two weeks either’ kind of black ‘n’ roll.
‘Agasul’ (no, still no clue) begins with some very malicious sounding laughter. It is more unfettered lunacy, speed and wonderfully jerky but well done tempo changes. Again my only real touchstone here is Slegest with more punk than metal chucked into the mix.
They close with ‘Rappespalter’ which at under five minutes is the shortest track here. Once more I kind of feel I’m sitting in a tavern the middle of nowhere and have just disvoered that the locals are all nuts. When the almost cheery, or scary but cheery mass vocals howl and hoot away I’m kinda thinking I’m in the wrong place but I’m too drunk to move any longer. When the umpah band begins, thankfully I pass out.
Oh it’s a blast
‘From the backwoods, middle of nowhere’ as the band themselves says on Bandcamp and somehow it really does sound like a bunch of loons drinking some weird shit in a run down shack they call a tavern because what the fuck else is there to do. And there’s only two of them. It might be a tale warning of the weird and the grotesque spirits skittering around the backwoods, or hallucinations found in the bottom of a large tankard of something grim, I have no idea. But it will send your brain racing and your body want to jig about especially if you can’t actually dance.
I’ll probably find out this is all deadpan serious now but in the meantime if you need to slap on a grin visit Zappedüster and have a drink. You won’t regret it. They may even take a fancy to you….
Gizmo
Walking The Liminal Space 