I know that I’ve written quite a bit concerning the struggles I’ve had to reconcile with the music of ultra-obtuse art collective Lansing-Dreiden—in fact, I’ve probably written more than I should. If anything, doing so has likely led me to fall into some uber-conceptual trap/artistic scheme cooked up by the outfit.

And as important as attempts, however puny they might be, at deeper criticism and whatnot might be, does it matter in the end if the music just does “it” for you, if it scratches that secret itch in your soul, gets your booty moving, makes you shake your head in awe/surprise/wonder, and so on?

I ask, because for all of their annoying artistic manifestos, Lansing-Dreiden’s mercurial music continues to do that. Their latest, the free-for-the-downloading Tri EP (visit their website), offers up three all-too-short tracks that shows off Lansing-Dreiden’s music in all of its glorious and maddening facets.

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Vanessa Van Basten hail from Genoa, Italy and are bizarrely named after the wife of Dutch footballer Marco Van Basten.  This duo operate somewhere between the heavy post-rock world and the experimental metal tendencies of Neurosis. La Stanza Di Swedenborg is a beguiling mix that is augmented by God Machine-style distortion and occasional Mike Patton-esque vocals.

Using a glut of electronic, distorted and acoustic instrumentation, it all starts with the impressive title track.  A tense 3-minute build-up of Italian spoken word and apocalyptic synths soon explodes with some tremendous, melancholic guitar work and industrial-sized drums.

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First, some sample lyrics: “I don’t like who I am”, “Sometimes it hurts just to be alive.” Bored?  Lines like these would be the most ridiculous modern-rock cliches possible… if they were on the new Eve 6 album. But it’s all in the music and after listening to the first 20 seconds of the first track, I’ve come to the realization that these guys are as fucked up as the lyrics suggest they are. If this band doesn’t effect you, check your pulse, because you’re probably dead.

The fact is that this is one of the most brutal albums I’ve ever heard. It makes death metal, grindcore, and other “extreme” music sound incredibly stale and generic. They transcend these genres, and are never unconvincing. “Helvetica” starts with a pretty typical metal/hardcore riff, but quickly becomes a discordant, chaotic nightmare with the vocalist alternately muttering and howling like a wounded animal. And it never lets up. This is scary.

Kiss It Goodbye are what most other metal and hardcore bands only pretend to be. They’re not saying “Oh look at me, I’m one disturbed individual”. They’re saying “I don’t care what you think. You’re an asshole anyway.” If you want something that will truly ruin your day, this is it.

Written by Matt.