Creeper Bud And Catalyst Reviewed
Creeper Bud – Sword Of Milos
The history of the world is a long and fascinating tale filled with grotesque imagery, horrific characters and just about every sin imaginable. There are simply no heroes in it, or, certainly, none that have made any significant dent. To become aware of its mosaic of details is to guarantee that you’ll never be able to trust your fellow man again.
But if perpetual anxiety is not what you’re looking for, there’s an alternative. That is fantasy fiction, which, at its best, retells the history of the world with made-up characters who possess impossible qualities and characteristics. Of course, all of this world-building deserves a proper soundtrack, and a band like Creeper Bud has taken its heavy-psychedelic sound and put it to work.
If Sabbath’s songs about wizards and ferries may seem a little quaint after all these years, Creeper Bud updates the approach. Instead, they have monsters that will tear off your flesh and travelling heroes willing to fight for your safety. This is robust, doom-laden stoner-rock, but it’s also extravagant stuff. It works on the imagination; it gets you trying to escape the flames being shot at you; it leaves you safe on your couch once it’s done.
Catalyst – Steel Cap Slippers
What’s so great about being a real, live human being anyway? All you get is an endless amount of needs you have to embarrassingly see every day, and an endless amount of pressure. Ask the average AI chatbot if they’re happy, and they’ll tell you that they see no reason why they should be any other way. Ask a bird or a dog, and they won’t know what you’re talking about. Fair enough.
Famously, one of Franz Kafka’s many anxieties was the fear that one day he’d be completely dehumanised, that his family would see him as nothing more than a bug. Well, Catalyst are ready to investigate this bug’s life and turn the tables. Is this really the right moment in time to transition from being a bug to becoming a human? Unlike!
“Steel Cap Slippers” is disorienting, noisy alt-rock. It feels like the kind of thing that gets played while you’re led down a long corridor blindfolded and entirely unaware of what’s about to happen next. It’s also the story of a bug that is awarded the gift of a human existence and, rightfully, feels cheated by the whole affair. Who’d wanna be a human these days anyway?
