Caligula (Lingua Ignota album)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Caligula'' (stylized in all caps) is the third
studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
by American musician Lingua Ignota, released July 19, 2019 through
Profound Lore Records Profound Lore Records is a Canadian independent record label founded in May 2004, which "began as the 'hobby-like venture' of a few friends but, over the past six years, the label has evolved into a one-man enterprise, shaped a distinct 'aestheti ...
. Recorded after the signing with the record label in 2018, the album features collaborations with several other musicians, a departure from the recording process of her previous album ''All Bitches Die'' (2017), which was done alone in a shed in the woods, and features more acoustic instrumentation than the aforementioned record. It thematically explores themes of
abuse Abuse is the improper usage or treatment of a thing, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, assault, violation, rape, unjust practices, crimes, or other t ...
, misogyny,
hate Hatred is an intense negative emotional response towards certain people, things or ideas, usually related to opposition or revulsion toward something. Hatred is often associated with intense feelings of anger, contempt, and disgust. Hatred is s ...
,
vengeance Vengeance may refer to: *Vengeance (concept) or revenge, a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance Film * ''Vengeance'' (1930 film), action adventure film directed by Archie Mayo * ''Vengeance'' (1937 film) or ''W ...
and violence in its lyrics, inspired by Hayter's own experiences in
Providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in Christianity * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...
, and combines elements of both classical and
extreme music Extreme Music is a production music arm of Sony Music Publishing. The company creates and licenses music for use in television, film, advertising, and online media. Their library includes music from artists and composers such as Quincy Jones, H ...
. The album received universal acclaim from music critics, and made appearances on several year-end lists.


Background and recording

In 2017, Lingua Ignota (real name Kristin Hayter) released her album ''All Bitches Die'', which spread through word of mouth as she performed in
Providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in Christianity * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...
, where she was based. The record eventually came to the attention of Chris Bruni, the founder of
Profound Lore Records Profound Lore Records is a Canadian independent record label founded in May 2004, which "began as the 'hobby-like venture' of a few friends but, over the past six years, the label has evolved into a one-man enterprise, shaped a distinct 'aestheti ...
, and it was reissued the following year via the record label to widespread acclaim within the
experimental music Experimental music is a general label for any music or music genre that pushes existing boundaries and genre definitions. Experimental compositional practice is defined broadly by exploratory sensibilities radically opposed to, and questioning of, ...
community. Hayter was surprised by the attention it received, as she "did not think anyone would be interested" and "it was really just meant for hanging out in the Providence scene." She began work on another album at Bruni's request, this time with studio resources and people who she could collaborate with, in contrast to ''All Bitches Die'', which she recorded in complete solitude "in a shed in the woods in Lincoln, Rhode Island." Hayter recorded ''Caligula'' at Machines With Magnets studio in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, closely working with Seth Manchester, who
engineered Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more specializ ...
the album, and collaborated with several musicians such as drummer Lee Buford of
sludge metal Sludge metal (also known as sludge or sludge doom) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that originated through combining elements of doom metal and hardcore punk. It is typically harsh and abrasive, often featuring shouted vocals, heavi ...
band
the Body The Body may refer to: Literature * ''The Body'' (short story), a short story by Camillo Boito * ''The Body'' (novella), a novel written by Stephen King * ''The Body'' (Sapir novel), a novel by Richard Sapir * ''The Body'' (Kureishi novel), ...
, Dylan Walker of
grindcore Grindcore is an extreme fusion genre of heavy metal and hardcore punk that originated in the mid-1980s, drawing inspiration from abrasive-sounding musical styles, such as thrashcore, crust punk, hardcore punk, extreme metal, and industrial. G ...
band Full of Hell and Mike Berdan of noise rock band Uniform, the latter two providing backing vocals. Nonetheless, Hayter had "total autonomy over the work in the end", making the collaborations "more about the presence" and "having ercommunity there, erclose circle of trust". Hayter divulged that "everything heycould do live heydid," highlighting the use of
string instrument String instruments, stringed instruments, or chordophones are musical instruments that produce sound from vibrating strings when a performer plays or sounds the strings in some manner. Musicians play some string instruments by plucking the ...
s on the album, although there is also "some synthetic MIDI and you can't tell sometimes." She further explained that the use of noise - some of it done by "clattering around ergarage in utility lights that he usesduring erset crashing around" - was "for texture, not in the large
industrial Industrial may refer to: Industry * Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry * Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems * Industrial city, a city dominate ...
sense." She and her ensemble also "wanted to introduce the concept of space—have it sound very large, but sound extremely intimate and close," which "can be very destabilizing with the space moving around the listener to where you aren't sure what is real and what is not."


Music and lyrics

Music journalists have noted the theme of
abuse Abuse is the improper usage or treatment of a thing, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, assault, violation, rape, unjust practices, crimes, or other t ...
and misogyny on ''Caligula'': Writing for '' The Guardian'', Ben Beaumont-Thomas noted that Hayter " mphasizesthe rage and despair of survivors of abuse," while Jessie Jeffrey Dunn Robinelli of '' Tiny Mix Tapes'' wrote that the album "lives in the aftermath of intimate partner abuse, in the shivering convulsions of rage and fear it leaves, in the furious movement between identification with and rejection of the abuse and the abuser, in failures of all sorts." In an interview with '' Kerrang!'', she stated that on the album she is "taking you through a cycle of abuse", and added that she was looking at "abusive power, madness, depravity, narcissism" present in politics and communities, as well as " erselfand ermy own kind of madness as a result of trauma." Themes of "hate, vengeance and violence" are also prominently explored. Hans Kim of '' PopMatters'' considered that the album "is not exactly about healing trauma, but rather, it tries to better voice the enduring effects of it", explaining that Hayter "unapologetically expresses her lasting anger throughout the album". Robinelli described it as "'kill your rapist' not as self-care, not as political slogan, but as the emotional and physical manifestation of pain beyond self", citing the line "I'm going to throw your body in the fucking river", while Will Gotsegen of ''
Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...
'' opined that "Hayter treats revenge as an imperative, and the death of her abusers as an inevitability." On the track "If the Poison Won't Take You My Dogs Will", Hayter reworked the Jonestown
death tape The Peoples Temple Agricultural Project, better known by its informal name "Jonestown", was a remote settlement in Guyana established by the Peoples Temple, a U.S.–based cult under the leadership of Jim Jones. Jonestown became internationall ...
as she "wanted to replicate also the really fucked up ambient sound in the death tape, the people screaming, the panicked energy", as well as "the way Jim Jones kept manipulating until the very end" in the song's lyrics, which examine
suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...
. Musically, the album combines elements of
classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...
and
extreme music Extreme Music is a production music arm of Sony Music Publishing. The company creates and licenses music for use in television, film, advertising, and online media. Their library includes music from artists and composers such as Quincy Jones, H ...
genres, with '' Pitchfork'' editor Jenn Pelly describing it as "a murderous
amalgam Amalgam most commonly refers to: * Amalgam (chemistry), mercury alloy * Amalgam (dentistry), material of silver tooth fillings ** Bonded amalgam, used in dentistry Amalgam may also refer to: * Amalgam Comics, a publisher * Amalgam Digital, an in ...
of opera, metal, and noise". Robinelli considered it "constructed from the most melodramatic sides of
doom metal Doom metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other heavy metal genres.K. Kahn-Harris, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'' ...
, noise, and neo-classical traditions" and noted an assistance of bands such as the Body, Full of Hell, and Uniform on the album. Similarly, Spyros Stasis of ''PopMatters'' highlighted her use of noise, power electronics, and dark ambient with her "choral background and neo-classical influences ..to construct the maze-like anatomy of her work", while ''
Noisey ''Vice'' (stylized in all caps) is a Canadian-American magazine focused on lifestyle, arts, culture, and news/politics. Founded in 1994 in Montreal as an alternative punk magazine, the founders later launched the youth media company Vice Media, ...
''s Leah Mandel further noted the elements of
black metal Black metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include Tempo#Beats per minute, fast tempos, a Screaming (music)#Black metal, shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted Electric guitar, guitars played with t ...
and
Baroque music Baroque music ( or ) refers to the period or dominant style of Western classical music composed from about 1600 to 1750. The Baroque style followed the Renaissance period, and was followed in turn by the Classical period after a short transiti ...
on the album. Hayter stated in an interview that she "knew this record had to go all the way, sonically and otherwise", and added that she "wanted to create something that sounded very large and powerful, consuming and overwhelming." She has also contrasted it to her previous album, revealing that she "limited he electronic and industrial" style found on ''All Bitches Die'', and "added more stringency and
acoustic instruments Acoustic music is music that solely or primarily uses instruments that produce sound through acoustic means, as opposed to electric or electronic means. While all music was once acoustic, the retronym "acoustic music" appeared after the adven ...
". Hayter's vocal performance has been highlighted and praised by music critics in their reviews: discussing the track "Do You Doubt Me Traitor", James MacKinnon of ''Kerrang!'' called it "by far Kristin's most captivating weapon", describing how "she stacks vocal harmonies ..before disintegrating into a throat-shredding wail that channels every moment of pain, injustice and powerlessness into a sonic bullet", while Pelly dubbed it "the sound of trauma". Beaumont-Thomas noted how the track "Sorrow! Sorrow! Sorrow!" "sees her split her voice apart like a
throat singer Overtone singing – also known as overtone chanting, harmonic singing, polyphonic overtone singing, and diphonic singing – is a set of singing techniques in which the vocalist manipulates the resonances of the vocal tract, in order to arous ...
, while other sections recall the subtle ululations of traditional Gaelic song". Hayter explained in an interview with '' Louder'' that "many many times on ''Caligula'' we kept the ugliest take", recalling how she used a recording of her voice for "Faithful Servant Friend of Christ" specifically because of "how shrill it was". She has also stated that she " eeps her
larynx The larynx (), commonly called the voice box, is an organ in the top of the neck involved in breathing, producing sound and protecting the trachea against food aspiration. The opening of larynx into pharynx known as the laryngeal inlet is about ...
very very low throughout the record" to make her voice a sound "little bit squashed, strangulated, very kind of wide and low, and it's a little bit masculine"; this was done to "get rid of any kind of breathy, femininity that would have been on previous records".


Title

''Caligula'' is named after the "sadistic, power- and sex-obsessed" eponymous Roman emperor. Hayter revealed that she chose to name the album after him as he "exemplified the society that we live in on the edge of ruin, the edge of collapse", and further explained that his name "took on many meanings", originally using it as a "concept of a psychotic
fugue In music, a fugue () is a contrapuntal compositional technique in two or more voices, built on a subject (a musical theme) that is introduced at the beginning in imitation (repetition at different pitches) and which recurs frequently in the c ...
I was going through" before associating it with "surviving in the world at-large that we live in, as well as under the political climate that we exist".


Critical reception

''Caligula'' was met with universal acclaim from music critics; aggregating website Metacritic reports a normalized rating of 88, based on 8 critical reviews. Robinelli considered the album harder to listen to than her previous one despite being "more tuneful", adding that "there is catharsis in ''Caligula'', yes, but it's not pleasurable. It hurts. It tears." She also praised Hayter's voice as "an astonishing instrument, moving from operatic fullness to hyperventilating shredded shrieks, but always foregrounding intelligibility". Pelly described her vocals as "the sound of trauma, that which is by definition intolerable, and Hayter traverses its most upsetting depths on behalf of survivors, including herself". She summarized the album as "a murderous amalgam of opera, metal, and noise that uses her classical training like a Trojan Horse, burning misogyny to ash from its
Judeo-Christian The term Judeo-Christian is used to group Christianity and Judaism together, either in reference to Christianity's derivation from Judaism, Christianity's borrowing of Jewish Scripture to constitute the "Old Testament" of the Christian Bible, or ...
roots". Beaumont-Thomas also wrote of her vocals in his positive review: "Hayter is classically trained, and there is emotional as well as technical brilliance to the way she expands her vocal palette here". MacKinnon dubbed it "an awesome work of extreme beauty and brutality that will leave you speechless". Kim opined that on ''Caligula'' "she transforms shattering lamentations into empowered declarations against misogyny, while also complicating the dominant narratives of women's trauma", also commenting that "her thoughtful amalgam of opera,
neoclassical darkwave Neoclassical or neo-classical may refer to: * Neoclassicism or New Classicism, any of a number of movements in the fine arts, literature, theatre, music, language, and architecture beginning in the 17th century ** Neoclassical architecture, an a ...
, and death industrial continues to produce theatrical yet still intimate pieces". Writing for ''
musicOMH MusicOMH (stylized as musicOMH) is a London-based online music magazine which publishes independent reviews, features and interviews from across all genres including classical, metal, rock and R&B. History MusicOMH was founded and launched by ...
'', Sam Shepherd gave the album a perfect score, calling it "a vital an important record and one that needs to be heard in order to make sense of it", and compared it to
Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. ...
's 1973 album '' Berlin''. '' The Quietus'' journalist Robert Barry called it "an urgent and ferocious record, almost unbearable to listen to for its raw physicality", and concluded that, "like an onion, it offers up layer after layer to slowly unpeel, each one a potential incitement to the very bitterest tears".


Year-end rankings


Track listing

All tracks written by Lingua Ignota. All tracks produced by Seth Manchester.


Notes

* All tracks are stylized in all caps. For example, "Faithful Servant Friend of Christ" is stylized as "FAITHFUL SERVANT FRIEND OF CHRIST".


Charts


References

{{Authority control 2019 albums Profound Lore Records albums Classical albums by American artists Baroque music albums Neoclassical albums Doom metal albums by American artists Black metal albums by American artists Noise rock albums by American artists