Profanation (Preparation For A Coming Darkness) (2008)
More like Procrastination (Preparation For A Never-Coming Album) if you ask me!
If you'll excuse my pilfering of a Mark Prindle running gag, I'll explain what I meant by that: 2008 was when this technically first saw release, but it actually was originally going to be released in 2005 by Sanctuary, which then went out of business. Then it had a 2008 release in Japan only, and finally saw US release in 2011. Most would put the delay of the US release down to rights issues, but PhonosycographDISK and Grandmixer DXT are on this album, and as we've conclusively proven earlier in this blog, turntablists hate America.
The final Praxis album is in certain ways one of their most accessible, although it's still densely produced and fairly "weird". A lot of this has to do with the many guest vocalists: There are appearances by Iggy Pop, Mike Patton, Serj Tankian, Killah Priest, Rammellzee, and Maximum Bob. The guest appearances don't mean that they're trying to get a rock radio hit or two, but there's generally more emphasis on verse-chorus-verse structure than usual.
That guest list might also make it sound like there's a bigger emphasis on rock than usual, but that's really only sort of true: "Worship" is essentially straight up Alternative Metal (with a side of dancehall reggae style vocals in the verses), and the Serj Tankian led "Sulfur And Cheese" naturally sounds a lot like a System Of A Down song, but elsewhere they're as musically diverse as ever. Actually, two of the vocalists you might expect to appear on straightforward rock tracks don't: "Furies" has some chunky guitar work but overall has more in common with Iggy Pop's The Idiot than it does with his work with The Stooges, while Mike Patton mainly provides crazy beatbox noises on the chaotic drum and bass meets metal track "Larynx". Even more surprisingly, some of the heaviest songs feature Rammelzee, best known for his contributions to early hip hop: "Caution" returns to the thrash metal influences of Sacrifist, while "Ancient World" and "Garbage God's" both combine drum n' bass beats with industrial metal guitars. Elsewhere, the Killah Priest-featuring "Galaxy" and "Revelations, Pt. 2" are P-Funk-flavored hip hop, and "Babylon Blackout" and "Endtime" continue their flirtations with dub.
Honestly, I think if this were really well promoted and didn't go through a Development Hell of sorts, this could have brought in some new fans. As it stands, it still makes for an interesting variation on their normal sound that still keeps in line with their past work.
Key Tracks: Worship, Larynx, Galaxies, Sulfur And Cheese
