Me And That Man – Songs Of Love And Death (Album Review)
Friday, 31 March 2017
Written by Alec Chillingworth
“Nergal’s doing a country album!” they screamed, taking their Behemoth demo tapes and thrusting them onto the bonfire below an effigy of the man himself.
But that didn’t happen, did it? No. And that’s because ‘Songs Of Love And Death’, Me And That Man’s debut offering, isn’t a country album. Contrary to what you might have heard, here blackened death metal veteran Nergal has in fact teamed up with moody folk miserablitarian John Porter to offer a twist on the latter’s go-to moves.
Setting out its stall with My Church Is Black, ‘Songs Of Love And Death’ offers downtrodden, American Recordings-era Johnny Cash with a sliver of Satanism – that’s Nergal, that. He likes Satan.
But it’s also a bit Nick Cave. A bit Tom Waits. Maybe a bit Wovenhand with a pinch of King Dude. Porter operates well in that broody songwriter pocket – most prominently on his collaborative albums with Anita Lipnicka – and he does so here, but while sinking his claws into Nergal’s forehead.
And sometimes that shows. Despite this record being mostly acoustic, it can also be darker than a Marmite nightmare. Ain’t Much Loving doesn’t so much tug at the heartstrings as sever them with a hacksaw, while Cross My Heart And Hope To Die’s child choir is creepy and not completely fucking dreadful, which is usually the case with that sort of thing.
And on the other side you’ve got a dash of the laid-back, whiskey-chugging, gun-slinging bravado that you could probably call ‘country’ if you’ve heard Rawhide and believe that to be the genre in its entirety. The spaghetti Western soundscape of Love & Death, coupled with Nergal’s zero-shits-given “HAH!”, conjures images of tumbleweed and cowboys, but that’s about it, really. Oh, and there’s a banjo on Cross My Heart And Hope To Die, too. Country, eh?
Actually, no, that’s a lie. One Day is a plodding, bass-driven, country-esque, blue skies ballad. But that’s only a few songs out of 13, and elsewhere this record is all over the place. There are some sizzling solos on Magdalene and there’s a right Led Zeppelin nod on Shaman Blues…but it’s proper country [insert a sarcasm emoji, or something else that conveys sarcasm].
This is a fun album. It’s a bit of a mess, but it’s the kind of mess you make at your mate’s house and leave for their parents to clean up after you leave, because you’re a carefree maverick. Nergal’s vocals on Magdalene are ropey and almost innocent, because he’s used to roaring in Behemoth and doing a Danzig impression in Wolverine. Porter is a bit more in control, talking about drinking from skulls and black pearls in people’s pussies. That kind of stuff.
Maybe it’s a few songs too long – One Day and Voodoo Queen could probably be buried to their necks and left in the sun – and not everything goes according to plan. But this is their first stab at it. If ‘Songs Of Love And Death’ is the only thing Me And That Man ever release, it’ll be remembered as a bold move for Nergal and another interesting collaboration for Porter. But if they explore this further? If they use Ain’t Much Loving as the springboard into a watering hole of sickening, painful odes to darkness? That is when Me And That Man will etch their names into the dirt.
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