The Body - I've Seen All I Need To See Review

The tried and true statement of "This just sounds like noise" has existed for as long as music has challenged the masses. Most people you show metal/experimental rock/noise usually just brush away the predictably painful memory they have to endure when listening to this music. You know me though; I just can't get enough of it. And what group to better display all of these qualities than The Body. For over 20 years, Lee Buford (also of Sightless Pit, whose debut we reviewed here) and Chip King have broken the boundary between metal and noise on every one of their releases. Through countless collaborations, compilations, EPs, and now eight full lengths, their reputation as one of the most sonically interesting acts in the world has only increased. 

But I wasn't always crazy about the group. I was introduced to the two-piece with their 2018 effort, I Have Fought Against It, But I Can't Any Longer, which I am still not totally sold on. Boasting a collection of really solid neo-darkwave tunes with a solid number of features (that understandably led to the recording of that Sightless Pit debut), it doesn't resonate with me as much as their "traditional" works on records I have come to love, like I Shall Die Here, No One Deserves Happiness and Ascending a Mountain of Heavy Light (with Full of Hell). However, upon hearing the singles towards the back half of 2020 leading up to I've Seen All I Need To See, I couldn't wait to see what the duo had to offer now.

The record opens with those two previously released tracks, and both do an excellent job at setting the destructively harsh mood The Body is famous for. "A Lament" bursts in with a low warbling synth and distorted spoken word taken from a work by Scottish poet Douglass Dunn, acting almost as an antithesis to the closer of the group's 2018 solo record. This cut slowly booms on as Chip King's reserved high harsh screeches into the void, and the music uncomfortably clips, stops and returns multiple times to total silence. The duo's famous monotone muffled scream then leads the noise to its climax, where guitars and drums explode, pushing the waveform peaks as high as they will go. Its a stunning opener, and the second single, "Tied Up and Locked In," is close on its heels in terms of quality. Half the length of the previous cut, the groovy but cataclysmic sludge metal is as disorienting as ever, as the instrumentation continuously grows and mutates into basically a power electronics track. This song actually stops a little short, however, which always throws me for a loop when I hear it. 

As the album continues, the amazing recording job by Seth Manchester is easily the group's focal point. With the ability to retain the monolithic sound provided by traditional metal instrumentation, the distortion placed on the whole mix is bewildering, and might cause you to get a serious headache. Tracks like "Eschatological Imperative" and "They Are Coming" really showcase this, with the latter boasting a synth-driven "beat" that shoot from massive walls of noise to a near silent waveform quaver. Dynamic variability is something The Body highly values, and you can easily see it on each of these cuts. Others, like "A Pain of Knowing," turn down the gain knob, and merely wade in the soupy synth lines as horrific screams drown in the artificial waves. The rest of the songs follow similar structures and aural sensibilities, but each bring their own flair to the table. "The City is Shelled" is a hypnotic track with twinkling clean tones thrown on top of the duo's destructive take on Insect Ark-like sludge, while "The Handle/The Blade" menacingly churns courtesy of pounding tom drums and repetitive synth lines. "Path of Failure" is a great closer, wrapping up the record with an eclectic blend of drum improvisation and buzzing electronics.

But The Body's aggressive sonic cacophony isn't for everyone. In a different way than metal, noise has such a raw and uncontrollable sound that too many find incredibly off-putting and extremely monotonous. While this record is monotonous in the sense that the tones don't often change and most songs keep to a similar palate, if you are really willing to give it a chance, it is extremely rewarding. If you do like this music though, do not skip over this. January releases rarely stay relevant, but I hope this one continues to gain traction throughout the year. And while this duo may be constantly innovating and reinventing their sound, on I've Seen All I Need To See, Buford and King simply entrance, terrify and decimate your eardrums over and over again.

Final Verdict: "To climb these stairs again," BRRRRRRRRRRRRR
Favorite Tracks: "A Lament," "They Are Coming," "The City is Shelled"
FFO: Primitive Man/Many Blessings, Sightless Pit, Uniform