Number 56 - w^w^^w^w by Car Bomb

 Number 56: w^w^^w^w by Car Bomb

Fractal fun with metal

Release: September 25th, 2012
Genre: Mathcore
Favorite Tracks: Finish It, The Sentinel, Third Revelation

 

Where I heard it: 

There was a period of my life between 2016 and 2017 where it seemed like every month, I'd hear about some crazy metal band from a couple friends of mine that would just be heavier and heavier with each new suggestion. Over that course of time, I learned about bands like Meshuggah, Intronaut, Gojira, Sepultura, and indeed Car Bomb that would come to dominate my listening preferences for the latter half of the 2010s. I have to admit, the name Car Bomb alone got my attention when first introduced to the technical frenzy that was Finish It. We listened to the song on full blast in my buddy's beat-up 4Runner while my friends pantomimed the instruments, as I sat slack-jawed in awe of Car Bomb's musical complexity accompanied by their brutally violent style. Full disclosure, that's the kind of stuff I was seeking out at the time: aggressive, technically challenging music to stimulate my brain. w^w^^w^w (pronounced 'W click W', but will henceforth be referenced as Waveform) scratches that itch better than any example I can conjure to this day.

I stare on my own
Down the hall they watch
You stare on your own
Kiss them goodbye
Eyes signaling, "This is too much.
I'm sick of it, sick of the bullshit."
Hush. Take your medicine
~ Finish It

What to expect:

Waveform is a very difficult listen for the casual consumer. If the excessive volume and hysterical vocals don't turn you off, the lack of easily discernable meter and tempo most certainly will. These are characteristics Car Bomb have loyally embraced throughout their career in navigating the independent metal scene. After releasing their debut record Centralia through a label in 2007, the band was dropped and subsequent material was released on the sharing service Bandcamp. Car Bomb cultivated a devoted following on the site, with their first independent release Waveform reaching #2 on the best-sellers list a week after its release. With a five year gap between albums, the band had plenty of time to fine tune the recording quality of their instruments to their desired preference, and Wavelength sounds much cleaner as a result. This album mirrors its predecessor quite closely, preserving the musical disarray and sonic blitzkrieg that defines Car Bomb while leaning hard into the motif of patterns and symmetry. Inspired by the works of artist M.C. Escher, composer Johann Sebastian Bach, and mathematician Kurt Gödel, Wavelength conglomerates the ideas of these scholars into a chaotically meticulous body with a dense, heavy metal core. Time signature is hardly a restriction to the arrangement of Waveform, streamlining snippets of carefully counted note segments together to frankenstein some semblance of a song. This eclectic showcasing of musical phrases can lead the listener on a winding adventure that mixes jarring blast beats with ominous harmonic choruses in songs like Lower the Blade and Magic Bullet. In the meantime, you'll be treated to the abysmal wails of guitar feedback and furious fills on the drum kit. It's shocking when the occasional moment of quiet or even silence eventually emerges among the clamorous composition of Waveform. Unsurprisingly, the absence of noise is just another tool in Car Bomb's arsenal of musical weaponry. While highly active sections may sound unintelligible to the untrained ear, Waveform is actually superb in its synchronization to intentionally sound so fragmented and imperfect. Even with basic knowledge of rhythm, it's not too tough for listeners to catch on to a specific pattern within a song. It can be a bit overstimulating to process a track's totality, but that's just part of the enjoyment of Car Bomb for me.

 You are killing us with what you're doing
Dig it up
One day you will see why
I will show you how it's done
One night, I'm gonna come inside your house
Wherever you're sleeping
And I'm gonna cut your throat
~ Third Revelation

Why it's my favorite: 

Although my knowledge across different genres is extensive, I don't profess to be a master of theory or composition or anything like that. In fact, I'm a little embarrassed at times when having discussions with people I know that studied music. Technical jargon has never been my forte, but as a consummate music appreciator, I know what I like when I hear it. In my adult years, my palate began acquiring a taste for extreme, avant-garde material that broke the boundaries of conventional music. Car Bomb remains my go-to source for mind-boggling songs with potent ferocity to boot. There's a surprising amount of substance to their music given the image they convey on face value. The air-tight syncopation and imaginative rhythm combinations arguably rival some of the greatest mathematically-inspired bands metal has ever seen. This dual threat featured on Wavelength suits my mood for when I want an attempt at mentally transcribing difficult songs, or if I just need a good 'ol fashioned rage session after a long day at work. Car Bomb has provided me with hours of entertainment dissecting their catalog both alone and with friends, yet I still find riffs or fills on Wavelength that feel just as new as the first time I heard them. The album's permutations practically ensure a unique listening experience with every run through.