Transmaniacon have been rather quiet since 2014’s hard rocking The Darkening Plain, but their return to the fray is quite an impressive collaboration. They have taken one of fantasy/horror novelist’s Ian Miller‘s post-apocalyptic street creations Suzie Pellet and constructed a cranked-up guitar fest of a concept album around the tale of her life and the lengths to which she has to strive to survive.
It’s an eerie and disturbing tale that picks at elements of her underworld dwelling existence like deep scabs and opens them up for the listener to experience. We should be thankful that this is all in Miller’s imagination, as I certainly wouldn’t want to be squirming around this god-forsaken hell.
With the 1970s influenced Transmaniacon on board with their blend of ear-splitting rock and slightly darker, more progressive sound, the next thing to do was to find the vocalists. First up for the older Suzie, looking back with wistful reflection, is Lydia Lunch. Transmaniacon have collaborated with her before, but her voice sounds so gnarled these days, almost as if these tales are being told from beyond the grave or at least from her death-bed.
I don’t know if these are her words, but I am assuming not as there is a kind of survivalist positivity which is normally missing from her own work. She does bring an extraordinary authenticity to the text though, and you do find yourself drawn into this terrible situation. Obviously, somebody else had to be the younger Suzie, telling the stories as they are happening and for that the band chose Cold In Berlin singer Maya Berlin. The tracks that Maya performs on are generally sung by her and are a change in mood from the rasping croak of Lydia’s sections. Split across eight sections, the tale starts with the death of Suzie’s mum and the “Inca Sunshine” of blood sprayed into her handkerchief as she coughs. The heavy rock chords don’t really allow time for reflection, though, and they reflect Lydia’s voice like a dirty mirror. There is a touch of Queens Of The Stone Age or maybe Deep Purple. When Maya’s vocals arrive, she definitely brings a different kind of drama to the proceedings. There are elements of punk, but also a wild goth influence to her vocalising and it suits the subject matter perfectly. Along with the overdriven guitars, the crazed swirl of a Hammond adds further greasy texture to “Painted On Skin” and the drums are deafening on “Sexton Breen”, a lurid tale of a gravedigger, hunting to avoid the dog packs, “dead if you can call it that”.There is a more contemporary guitar sound to “Dogs Of War”, infused with a synth choir that fits the desperation in Maya’s voice and continues into the following “Outrun The Pack”. You can imagine the subject matter and it is rather emotional. Towards the end, the positivity of survival begins to shine through, and both Lydia and Maya can see some light at the end of the tunnel, toward which they are urged by the rich and powerful guitars.
It is quite a tale and definitely worth the journey.
-Mr Olivetti-
