RBOTD #189: Forgotten Cairns
"Who's the Voice now?"
https://www.metal-archives.com/band/view/id/3540325847
Country: Australia
Location: Reservoir, Victoria
Genre: black metal/ambient/noise
Formed in: 2008
Status: Active
By the Numbers
Forgotten Cairns is the:
71st band formed in the 2000s
Third band from Australia
100th band that is active at the time of querying
Its genre tags have been seen:
Black metal: 52 times
Ambient: 2 times
Noise: 2 times
Member Connections
A lot. Narrowing this down to the following:
Rakshasa, a black metal/noise band from Netherlands / Australia
The Horn, an experimental black metal band from Reservoir, Victoria
Stinky Picnic, a father/daughter improv band from Australia
Know 'Em?
Nope. I am now 10/189.
Sketch Check
It was briefly on Wolfsvuur Records, which has some sketch in the discography. I don't think Forgotten Cairns is sketchy for reasons I'll get into.
RateYourMusic Scores
Forgotten Cairns's highest-rated release is 2011's South of Hell, which achieved a 1.63 average on 3 ratings.
Forgotten Cairns's adjusted score places it in the 2nd percentile at the time of measuring.
Adjusted scores are calculated similarly to the Trad Belt scoring system. Please read that column for more information.
Trifecta Tracker
Forgotten Cairns did not achieve the trifecta.
A band can achieve the trifecta by titling a song after itself on a self-titled release. Iron Maiden's "Iron Maiden" on 1980's Iron Maiden is an example of the trifecta.
RBOTD has the same effect on me as shopping for five hours.1 That amount of time spent in a mall picking through endless piles of noes obliterates any sense of taste/self. The end result is whatever I pull off the rack that fits seems like it will change my life. Then, I wake up the next day and wonder why I own bedazzled corduroy JNCOs.
I have to be honest: Forgotten Cairns's 2016 EP, Dead Heart, fits right now, even though I know it's probably never leaving my closet. The first song, a cover of Midnight Oil's "The Dead Heart," is diet Gnaw Their Tongues with rudimentary riffs. However, the original's hook shines through, elevating the track thanks to its indelible melody. Can't say I expected Midnight Oil to translate this well to black metal, a minor revelation that reminds me of the reworks on Nadja's When I See The Sun Always Shines On TV.2 It might just be a song that's impossible to ruin, like Black Sabbath's "Snowblind."3 However, I think the reason it works is because Forgotten Cairns taps into the same forces that animated Midnight Oil and made it "important."
"When I was a kid, songs about things that really mattered filled the charts: local bands like Midnight Oil, Redgum, even John Farnham's 'Age of Reason' and 'You're the Voice' were anti-apathetic," Forgotten Cairns's lone member A Demon Sheen (presumably) writes in Dead Heart's liner notes. "Empowerment and analysis. It feels like these things are missing in 2016. Who's the Voice now? We grew up on artists helping create a public dialogue about Aboriginal land rights, about the horrors of war, about the greed of corporations, about the marginalisation of minorities, about taking a stand and trying to make the world a better place, for everyone. Somehow, fighting for social justice became a bad thing, an uncool thing, an insult. Fuck that. Social justice is the only way to survive the coming Dark Ages. Forgotten Cairns is a social justice warrior, and fucking proud of it."
Forgotten Cairns should be proud of the original compositions, too. "White Plague" is an explosion of blasts and distortion that shakes itself apart and then reassembles itself like a T-1000 into a blackened doom trudge. It's twitchy and itchy, like the third day of a three-day high. "The Cancer of the Land" is a 17-minute ambient woosh that loops in field recordings and pours on the fuzz like concrete. It reminds me of Rune's "For the Weary and the Sullen," one of my favorite drone outros in metal. Of course, it's not to that level, but the fact that it evokes it is a success. It even closes with a noodly section that's not far removed from something Wrest would stuff into the corners of a Lurker of Chalice recording. Neither track is as strong as "Dead Heart" for obvious reasons, but they're not bad, harnessing a creative energy that eons of RBOTD experiences has taught me is not usually present.
So, yeah. Is Forgotten Cairns good? Am I grooving with this just because it's the end of a long week and I'm desperate to feel anything? The real test is to sample South of Hell, Forgotten Cairns's 2011 full-length that has an abysmal rating on RYM. And you know…it's not bad, either. The fact that it's slathered in blown-out loud noises definitely helps, obscuring potential deficiencies. Like, if you dried it out and measured it against a similarly dried-out Axis of Perdition record, I'm guessing you'd immediately notice a disparity between the two in terms of songwriting. That said, I have made worse sounding black metal.4 In fact, if I made something like South of Hell, you'd probably never hear the end of it. I'd be insufferable. My flexing would never end. I'd stick a link to it in my email signature…at my day job. I mean, listen to this. Is this a 1.63?
Maybe it is. Maybe I’ll wake up tomorrow and realize my mistake and try to phish you with a cred-protecting link that will delete this email. But right now, in this moment, relative to everything else, Forgotten Cairns sounds…OK. Good, sometimes. It makes noise, it makes it clear. Oh-oh-oh-oh, whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh.5 It fits.
Rando Observations:
One of A Demon Sheen's many side-projects is Ice Cold, “satanic necrobeat,” aka black metal plus hip hop. I can't believe I'm writing this, either, but it's more listenable than I imagined.6
Got a question? Email us! plagueragespod at gmail
Follow Wolf on Twitter @WRambatz
Our logo and branding is by Mike Teal. Find Mike at www.storylightmarketing.com and www.miketealdesign.com
Like what we’re doing? Drop us a donation on Ko-fi
I seem to date people who live to shop. I generally abhor the experience unless I bring something with me to read. You won't believe this, but people who love to shop don't seem to love it when I bring a book to Macy's. This is all actionable intel that I'm too dumb to incorporate into my love life. We did a podcast about this.
It's the best Nadja album by a mile, in my opinion. "Long Dark Twenties" forever.
I will die on this hill: It's the best System of a Down song and it's not close.
Oh, it's on Bandcamp. You will never find it.
If you're wondering, "Where's the metal 'You’re the Voice'?" Jorn has got you covered. The least surprising thing.
Someone should do horrorcore dälek.