“So tell me… what were you paid? Did you find out the worth of your soul?”
When pondering the future of heavy music, there are few bands leaving as defined footprints in the sand in such little time as Tallah. Since forming in 2017 they’ve laid siege to the scene alongside countless, equally bombastic peers (see: Omerta, Vein.fm, etc) with the shared goal of cutting through the filler by virtue of making the genre disturbing again. The result has since become a well-oiled concept album machine with layers spanning deep enough to suffice even the most exhaustive of lore buffs, owed in part to the alliance of YouTube’s own Justin ‘Hungry Lights’ Bonitz and Max Portnoy (yes, that Portnoy). Three albums later and we now find ourselves in exceedingly unfamiliar territory as Primeval: Obsession // Detachment sees Tallah leave the Earth’s orbit and touch down on the Planet Nebrar for what could be their most outlandishly eccentric set of showtunes by far.
Upon finding oneself waist deep in a Tallah full-length of any shape or size, know that in one way or another you will always get more than what you bargained for. Albums of the conceptual variety are their house special, infused with their emotionally charged and unhinged sound until the meat begins to fall off of the bone. Their debut album Matriphagy took the gutwrenching perspective of a mentally stunted manchild trapped inside their childhood home by his overprotective mother. Sophomore substantiator The Generation Of Danger embraced a bitter revenge story by chronicling the morbid experiments of a genius biologist after his employer snatched the credit for his latest breakthrough. Now Primeval: Obsession // Detachment prepares us for a two act blister-twister set on the aforementioned Planet Nebrar. We are slung over the shoulders of newcomer protagonists Ana and Sheelah, who each find themselves confronted with an intense moral ultimatum of biblical proportions posed by their well-admired ancient overlords. It doesn’t exactly take a rocket-scientist to suss out that this premise is a little far-out even compared to what we’re used to from Camp Tallah, however, the symbiotic relationship between it and the forty two minute musical vessel that it wields quite literally speaks for itself – with Primeval’s listening experience coming across particularly akin to musical theatre, more so than film or traditional media.
This comparison could be a knock-on effect of multiple components. Perhaps it’s the albums accompanying orchestral arrangement and tribal elements providing a reinforcing layer of boastful gaudiness to its framework, or maybe the fact that its instrumental section was entirely recorded live and without a click track has a hand to play in its larger than life, broadway-esque energy. One indisputable factor in the matter is without a doubt the voice behind the whimsy. Vocalist and part-time loose cannon Justin Bonitz has been the mouthpiece for a myriad of characters and stories captured through music for nigh-on decades at this point, even outside of Tallah. As one of the more versatile vocalists on the scene, we see him demonstrate his acting chops through fraught, full-throated melodies and huge choruses on most tracks, spontaneous high-octane rap flows (British accent optional) and of course his over the top brand of charge-leading cartoonish ferocity as he DIYs his way through each and every role to be played vocally on the record with the animated eloquence of a prime era Disney villain (once again in a single continuous take, mind you).
From the word go we bear witness to the aggressive cyclical ecdysis that this band periodically undergoes, through primal chants and rhythms which dominate the soundscape. It strikes a far cry from previous romps but provides an equally effective tone setter for what lies ahead, as “05:01” becomes “What we know” and the vision becomes crystal clear. Act one Obsession carefully sets its sights on an adventurous yet familiar groove that harkens to a simpler time in both nu-metal and hardcore’s past, whilst adorning it with some extraterrestrial accessories that enhance its unusual and exotic atmosphere. Something that can’t often be highlighted in the majority of modern metal and core that contributes heavily to Primeval’s exemplary groove would be its frankly unbelievable use of bass. It bottles all the best bits of Korn and Mudvayne’s funk-laden teachings into a salient and jaw-dropping twang-fest courtesy of former drummer, current bassist Max Portnoy – who apparently wasn’t content with his prodigy status in just one instrument. Drum duty now rests in the more than capable arms (and legs) of former fill-in Joel McDonald, who keeps the torch significantly lit when it comes to break-neck speed, bruising beatdowns and the fabled and tantalizing ping of the snare drum.
Interestingly enough, a good amount of longstanding Tallah & Tallah-adjacent tropes find themselves at home, more so here than in previous iterations as a result of the sheer commitment that this LP has to its multifaceted weirdness. Take “augmented” for example: even whilst standing confident as the unapologetically nu-metal problem child, key ingredients like Bonitz’ patois-inspired verse delivery, or new recruit DJ Navi’s real time remix of the vocal stem hit all the harder with all the cogs in the machine oiled up and turning in unison. This also shines through the heavy investment into the use of symphonics and synthetics observed by “as fate undoes” and “my primeval obsession”. These feel somewhat reminiscent of the Hungry Lights solo project methodology, as if Primeval is manifesting the most refined and enchanted version of the Tallah sound by grinding its raw minerals down into a sharpened weapon.
Just in case your head isn’t spinning on its axis yet, the half-way point of the album is where things get complicated on a skeletal level. Act one shrinks in the rear-view mirror to the deliberately thudding kicks and ghostly chorus of “my primeval obsession”. It’s here where a gap, or rather a “_la|cuna_” (“_the|cradle_” when translated from Spanish, foreshadowing a heavy plotpoint that will be relevant for previously recognised lore enthusiasts) presents itself as a soulful acoustic interlude that bridges the void between Obsession and Detachment. Musically, this transition is reflected through a steep and sudden jolt of urgency. Whilst the first act was, for the most part, covertly calculated down to its final moments, act two comparatively stomps this composure with little warning. It blasts off into hysterics that range from the bizarrely catchy one-man pseudo-duet “depleted” to a promising contender for the heaviest that Tallah has ever been in “A primeval detachment”. Taking into consideration Primeval’s anatomy, however, this jump represents an intriguing and complex shake-up with endless implications to both the dual-concept and overall consumption of the record, as the tracklist appears to invert upon itself, titles and all.
Implicated by this structural anomaly, the Detachment portion routinely offers plenty of sly references and progressions of the breadcrumbs that Obsession laid through key lyrical callbacks and reinterpretations (and/or bastardisations) of rhythms and motifs long past. In the case of a release that’s so interconnected on such a level as this, it does beg the question of whether or not these songs can be comfortably digested individually as opposed to fully engaging with the entire runtime. Whilst the crust-ends of the album (“05:01” and “07:09”) are purely scene-setters with little replay value unless you’re (A) intent on consuming the experience as a whole, or (B) just a really big fan of Stomp, it must be emphasized that the meat of the matter houses some of Tallah’s most engrossing and rewarding hits. This is even in spite of any context the listener is missing, or the formidable inaccessibility that sprouts from its experimentation with the band’s formula. The second act alone makes it especially worth attaining the credentials to pass through – if only to experience breakdowns that leave one conflicted on whether they should laugh out loud at the absurdity or mess their trousers out of fear. “undone by fate” and the ending reprise of “What we know” that closes out “what we want” are particularly pant-shitting moments, deserving of a complimentary new pack of strings for guitarists Alex Snowden and Derrick Schneider.
Tallah have never been strangers when it comes to embracing the unusual, but Primeval: Obsession // Detachment takes the cake to a whole new level that synergises with its concept in feeling totally and fascinatingly alien. The music co-pilots a unique mirrored record structure and abstruse timeline to its advantage in order to become a captivating vehicle for its rather ‘out there’ story. In doing this, the band’s master plan to increasingly mutate the nu-metal revival with each and every rung of the ladder exposes itself further. This presents a feast for the diehards but perhaps the challenge of a higher bar-of-entry for those that aren’t privy to what awaits them on Nebrar’s surface. Though in a world where several modern classics and highly revered standard-setters proudly wear a stricter dress-code, I would insist that this does not and should not by any means hold the album back. This is a release that only Tallah could do, at their most ambitious, experimental and realised thus far. When the time inevitably comes for Tallah to drop their next project in the form of an immersive 4D theatrical VR audiobook reverse-whodunnit escape room set in the far reaches of an alternate Pluto, I, for one, will be seated.
9/10
Primeval: Obsession // Detachment will be released via Earache Records on Friday, September 5th and can be pre-ordered here.