Artist: Leng Tch’e
Country: Belgium
Label: Relapse Records
Formats: CD
Year: 2007
Belgium’s Leng Tch’e return with their fourth album, and second with Dutch cesspool-throated Boris the Bastard. They have entitled it ‘Marasmus’, a term used to describe the downfall of a body, or whatever degeneration. Within only a couple of spins it is clear to me that Leng Tch’e is not really near any of that. But…
Yet, “Marasmus” gave me a double sided feeling. On one hand they really got Boris on the right side of the band, on their previous effort (2005’s “The Process Of Elimination”) he sounded like a guest vocalist who hadn’t had the time for some decent rehearsal sessions. Now, he sounds as a part of the band, which is definitely a good thing, as that was my major complaint about the last album. But, on the other hand “Marasmus” is the first album that sees some dull moments. They fail to keep the whole album interesting enough to keep the listener interested. It is hard to say why, maybe because of the more rock n roll attitude of some songs (but without touching the greatness of a band like Blood Duster), or the diversity in tempos or maybe because the ‘wow-effect’ is gone – Leng Tch’e were definitely a band that were able to bring something new to a near-dead-genre when it comes to originality. No more shock and awe, but still a pretty nice band with a decent album. But that is just not enough for a band like Leng Tch’e, they should have pushed it further for their own good and reputation. I bet the overall reactions will be like this as well.
