LINGUA IGNOTA
Caligula PROFOUND LORE Coruscating catharsis and vengeance from California’s vocalist extraordinaire
Originality is a rare bird these days. It comes in the strangest shapes and colours, and sometimes it intrudes violently. With the 2018 re-release of All Bitches Die through Profound Lore, the world of extreme and experimental music was confronted with the sheer force of Lingua Ignota, and it was almost impossible to look or listen away. Kristin Hayter, the woman behind this transgressive project, made sure her voice was heard. It’s a voice of indomitable power and fragile delicacy. One that moves from venomous destruction to ruptured mourning with ease and finesse. If All Bitches Die didn’t make you shake in awe of the compositional and vocal brilliance of the classically trained musician, then her new album, Caligula, surely will.
The 72-minute sinister rollercoaster ride that is Lingua Ignota’s second fulllength raises the themes, atmospheres and sonic language of its predecessor to a higher level. Stripping away much of the previously known pounding electronic and industrial elements,
Hayter travels further into her own sound realm, using piano, winds and strings (and most importantly: her ever-changing, multi-layered vocals) against a backdrop of heavily distorted, violent noise. There are traces of classical and church music, black and death metal, doom and opera to be found in this epos of pain, abuse of power and vengeance. As such, it comes as no surprise that the California-born singer and pianist found allies in the likes of Dylan Walker (Full Of Hell), Lee Buford (The Body) and Mike Berdan (Uniform) on this album. From the ethereal opener Faithful Servant Friend Of Christ to the nightmarish crescendo of Do You Doubt Me Traitor, from the chilling shrieks of Day Of Tears And Mourning to the beautiful piano ballad, Sorrow! Sorrow! Sorrow!, Caligula is an album of striking honesty and rawness, liturgical grandeur and unequalled emotional weight. You won’t find anything like it in the world.
FOR FANS OF: Diamanda Galás, Puce Mary, Pharmakon