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Rating: "Everyone Hates Valor Kand" Act IV
"Now you have a good reason to hate him"
In our small journey into the world of Christian Death featuring the usurper, the false and unworthy Valor Kand, we have so far dealt with albums that were nonetheless positive or at least interesting, at least filled with noteworthy ideas and visions (even if the final execution may leave one perplexed or not completely satisfied).
Now it is time to truly hate the reckless arrogance/megalomania of our Valor: what I am about to review is surely the worst album of the entire discography of the Los Angeles band. The initial project conceived by the mind of our non-hero involves the collection, in two separate works, of all that represents love and hate, a double graphic-lyrical-musical concept from which to discern and extract all the sensations associated with the aforementioned pair.
Well, you might say, apart from the cloying nature of the proposal, it is certainly not easy to embrace contexts so vast and conceptually overused, worn out, and slavish, bringing to light something original, something not previously dissected.
Under these wonderful auspices, Christian Death meets their worst defeat: the duo "All the love, all the hate" (Part 1 - All the Love) and (Part 2 - All the Hate).
Having been released separately but both in 1989, I can allow myself to review the less bad of the two (which says a lot): "All the Hate".
Having to weigh the pros and cons of this work, I feel compelled to say that the only commendable aspect of the album under review is the packaging with which "All the Hate" is presented: limited edition colored vinyl, with a fold-out cover that unfolds into four finely crafted sides. The graphic theme chosen to represent the zenith of hate is World War II and Nazism, perhaps a predictable choice (though it is difficult for me to think of anything more malevolent), yet rendered with great effect through a series of very evocative drawings and photos (like the album cover itself).
Well, paraphrasing the Great Poet, abandon all hope ye who enter here, because there is no chance of hearing good music: rarely have I approached albums so devoid of musical/lyrical ideas, rarely have I seen such radically negative and deteriorative changes compared to their original reality.
Let me explain: assuming that the music created up to then by Christian Death, whether from the Rozz Williams era or the Valor Kand era, is hard to categorize outside the generic label of gothic rock/death rock, it seems difficult to accept that "All the Hate" is fundamentally an album literally composed of individual samples looped from heavy metal tracks, mostly stolen from Slayer, Megadeath, and the like, assembled randomly without restraint.
The single extracted from the album in question is titled "I Hate You" and besides featuring a rather unoriginal hard rock/metal base, it is sung by Valor's minor son (aged 6/7 at the time), and is plagued by lyrics that are the most useless and indeed childish I have ever heard.
As you may have already guessed, the poverty of ideas pervades the album so much that to reach the total of nine tracks, our non-hero found nothing better than to include useless fillers composed of spoken songs over electronic/industrial bases or similar thrash metal bases with double bass drums and fiery solos. Truly embarrassing.
The initial intentions of cultured discourses on social/cultural disasters, and not least environmental ones, patently flounder in a sea of banality and superficiality, such an embarrassing paucity of ideas as to annoy the listener. No track worth mentioning except the opener "Born in a womb, died in a tomb" (well, what a novelty), with its intriguing and oriental-sounding opening riff.
The lowest point of Valor Kand's compositional career, unfortunately, justifies our rogue's terrible reputation.
"All the Love, All the Hate" (Part I and II), albums recommendable to absolutely no one.
To avoid.
Tracklist
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