v364 - Ludicra - "Fex Urbis Lex Orbis"

LUDICRA takes the title of their second Alternative Tentacles release Fex Urbis, Lex Orbis --the Latin phrase meaning "dregs of the city, law of the earth"--from Victor Hugo's Les Miserables. While the pop culture machine managed to make a hit Broadway musical out of it, LUDICRA's emotional and seemingly humanistic approach to black metal seems strangely more faithful to Hugo's vision. Musically, everyone seems to agree that LUDICRA is a one-of-a-kind band: their complex instrumentation and nontraditional songwriting transcend the typical bounds of black metal (like fellow SF black metal hordes LEVIATHAN, DRAUGAR, WEAKLING, etc.), incorporating elements of crust, avant-rock and death metal. Fex Urbis, Lex Orbis builds upon their previous release Another Great Love Song, continuing with the musical motifs of corrosive urban decay filled with despair and nihilism. With an ever-expanding fan base straddling many scenes and a groundswell of critical acclaim from key publications, LUDICRA's Fex Urbis, Lex Orbis is sure to be one of the highlights of 2006 and continues an Alternative Tentacles tradition of releasing the best in progressive heavy sounds like NEUROSIS, ZENI GEVA, COMETS ON FIRE, SKARP, etc.