Which for us is a truly welcomed act, due to receiving a rather exhilarating present we would have never of known we needed, until we got the chance to sample its complex balancing act between enchanting brutality and arresting bewitchery; the experimental and post metal legend Julie Christmas, has long enticed the scene with their beauty and the beast-esque championing coupled with their expert musicianship, which is now perfectly exemplified with the latest release of their second studio album – Ridiculous and Full of Blood.
Finally returning after a 14 year gap in her solo discography dominance, post release of her debut solo studio album The Bad Wife; fans and casual listeners alike, for the most part, have been sustained musically through her collaborative efforts with Cult of Luna, a plethora of guest appearances and stints in past bands Spylacopa, Battle of Mice and Made Out of Babies. Nowadays Christmas’ allocated time in the lone spotlight is clearly becoming a much-yearned act of defiance, truth and embracement of the self, through the lens of a truly alarming duck and weave sonic onslaught of grand and epic proportions.
Such marvels in need of your attention, include the commanding presence of what feels like a Courtney Love vs Kat Bjellend scream off in the midst of a nu-metal circle pit on ‘Thin Skin’, the unstable ripples of yearning and rejection where Johannes Persson lays some fiercely addictive slowcore undercurrents with ‘End of The World’ as well as Ridiculous’ most appropriate track name, for a 2 minute unrelenting sonic bombardment, detailing true monstrous rage laid bare in ‘Blast’.
This latest release from Julie Christmas is a solid work of hypnotising lilts, screams even banshees would deem truly terrifying, as well as an instrumental expertly bridging the gap between the heavy music scene and avant-garde works of pure high art. Unfortunately, we know striving for perfection is a fool’s errand and favour regrettably dwindled around the midway point due to the multilayered electro driven industrial disposition of ‘Kids’; the track in question though nowhere near lacking early promise, felt distinctly alien from the rest of the album, as well as suffered from what can only be described as an overtly fast-paced clicking plunder present in its choral line before it became clear the track itself was on the shorter side of the album’s runtime.
The loss of sonic immersion allowing such cathartic prowess on the rest of the record briefly perturbed us, yet the sour note we were left with was quickly remedied by a second half of the album’s inclusions which reminded us of just how great this release truly is.
Christmas’ latest release’s charmingly ridiculous antics in its rise and fall through the many voices and faces of rage spiralling, is a masterpiece amongst dronings of sincerely mediocre repeat heavy-hitting offenders we find ourselves utterly fatigued by in recent memory. Ridiculous and Full of Blood’s blood-curdling absurdity is a must listen for any and all who seek to be absorbed and inspired by a scene in dire need of artistic ascensionism.