Fur is stronger than nails

Firstly, you really should know about the metal band Anacrusis. They were a unique (and scruffy) quartet from St. Louis, MO that consistently tweaked their prog-metal recipe over four albums, ultimately adding Casio-esque synths and dated-sounding electronics on swan-song Screams and Whispers. Their 1991 release Manic Impressions was not only the crowning acheivement of their career, but also one of the first fully digital (DDD) thrash/heavy recordings I can recall. Perhaps as a result, their sound was a chilly, mathy blend of herky-jerk angular riffing and vocal dynamics that alternated hushed melodies with wincing, squish-faced shreiks.

So, why the background lesson on Anacrusis? Because somewhere in history, I recall seeing a live photo of Anacrusis frontman Ken Nardi in a Tribes With Knives t-shirt. The rest of the story is hazy, but somehow through reading the thanks lists in album booklets and perhaps some Metal Maniacs articles, it became clear that Tribes With Knives were buddies of Anacrusis — and when their debut CD You May Safely Graze materialized, I thoroughly expected it to be badass:

Indeed, they effortlessly combined the despairing, melodic Anacrusis vocal style with an early, Faith-era Cure approach to create spare, yet intimidating soundscapes. On top of that, there’s a swirling, plodding hypnotic vibe to this disc that verges on shoegaze-metal. It’s not an ordinary beast, this album. And, sadly, the recently passed Jeff Carline (Tribes With Knives, Stykfaktor) appears in the credits as having penned material, but does appear in the lineup of this disc. I am truly in awe of Carline’s enigmatic and profound impact, and it would be great to hear from others who have more insight into these bands.

From You May Safely Graze:

Fur

Cold