Even as a metal fan, I typically prefer to be ear-wooed than
ear-fucked. Let me explain. I’d rather be caressed gently by the shoegaze
melodies of Alcest than get into a fist fight with Slayer. I’d rather take a pensive walk through a
Pacific forest with Agalloch than be tormented by Anaal Nathrakh. I’d rather make goofy jokes about the devil
with Ghost than worry about Watain actually
sacrificing me to said-Devil. That said,
sometimes there are exceptions.
Sometimes I just want to plug in my headphones, drop the needle on a
record, and get ear-fucked, HARD, non-stop for forty-five minutes, until I’m
ear-screaming in ecstasy and ear-begging for more. Not just any heavy album is up for such a
marathon of ear-fucking, but Ulcerate’s new tech death masterpiece Vermis not only lives up to the
challenge, but it made me ear-cum. Six
times.
