Video Premiere: Fire-Toolz – mailto:spasm@swamp.god?subject=Mind-Body Parallels/Clear Light

Soviet-era animation Tale of Tales is often considered the best animated film of all times and for a good reason. The way it weaves together complex themes of war, grief/loss and keeping the memory alive/persevering in the face of darkness is nothing short of astounding. The movie also relies heavily on music rather than dialogue (save for an occasional snippet of a song or a lullaby that the main character sings).

The obvious question – how does any of this connect with today’s video premiere? I, for one, feel that emotion is central to the work of Fire-Toolz (aka Angel Marcloid). Its not “emo” in any conventional sense of the word, but rather the turbulent/fractured flow of the music makes you think of someone trying to figure out their way out of life’s more complex problems (be it an abusive relationship or death of a loved one).

Again, on the surface Angel’s music may hardly seem emotional – it was undoubtedly informed by metal/punk/industrial/noise as much as it was informed by chilled out electronic music. The end result is not for the faint of heart – there are random bursts of black metal style shrieks and pounding drumming to be found all over “mailto” and “Clear Light” (interspersed with some quieter moments and even an occasional sax solo). Yet dig underneath all the relentless brutality and you’ll find something deeply humane beneath it.

Field Whispers (Into the Crystal Palace) by Fire-Toolz is out on Aug. 30th via Orange Milk Records