Record of the Week: Brain Tourniquet: Sinking Deeper into Madness 12"

Brain Tourniquet: Sinking Deeper into Madness 12” (Iron Lung Records) Washington, DC’s Brain Tourniquet returns with their second album, on which they continue stretching their sound beyond the vintage power violence that influenced their first few releases. If you loved the direction Brain Tourniquet was moving in on their previous LP, An Expression in Pain (which we named Record of the Week when it came out in 2023), then I’m pretty sure you’ll love Sinking Deeper into Madness since it continues along that same path, summoning the grimness of first-wave power violence while all but throwing out that genre’s established templates. After starting with a sub-one-minute rager that feels like a concession to the PV heads, Sinking Deeper into Madness feels like it really gets started with the second track, “Concentrate.” That song begins with this eerie tapping on the hi-hat, which feels like something in a horror movie that would build tension before a jump-scare, but the industrial-sounding snare and the intriguing balance between airiness and density make me think of Swans’ early recordings. That dynamic between positive and negative sonic space plays out across the album, not so much swaying between heaviness and lightness but bringing them together, like an anvil floating away peacefully into the atmosphere. While doom and sludge metal both deal in these slow tempos and big power chords, Brain Tourniquet’s odd timings and unique arrangements (in which the players often lay out, staying silent or softly feeding back while the bass, drums, or guitar plays solo) feel more like prog rock than punk or metal. One exciting moment when all this collides is on the track “Eyes Wide Open,” when the band breaks into a Cro-Mags esque gallop, but after a few bars stops cold and segues jarringly into a long tom roll that sounds more like timpani. I should also mention that Sinking Deeper into Madness is a concept record. The album tells a story about a person whose family encourages them to get a lobotomy after they experience a manic episode. This story climaxes with the penultimate track, “Castrated Mind,” which flows into the cover of the Beatles’ “Tomorrow Never Knows” that ends the record. I always thought the Beatles song was about the experience of “ego death” that often accompanies a strong psychedelic experience, but within the context of Sinking Deeper into Madness the song takes on an entirely different meaning, its gently moaning vocals and hazy waves of feedback reading as menacing rather than tranquil. What are we to make of our protagonist’s journey? Happy ending or tragedy? Sinking Deeper into Madness is a heady experience, but if you’re the kind of person who gets down with King Crimson’s Red and Swans’ Filth just as much as Crossed Out and No Comment, you’ll love taking this ride.