To accommodate Zegema Beach Records‘ German co-release with Dingleberry Records, IDIOTEQ is proud to give you the newest psychedelic video and the full album stream of experimental noisy math hardcore duo KIKEN, which consists of Nick Skalkos, writer, producer, multi-instrumentalist known for his work with The Miniatures, Spirits, City and Colour, Len, The Mounties and Sasha Chornyy on vocals (Life In Vacuum, Congratulations). KIKEN is a faceless, nameless concept band. We take on the characters “Hydra KIKEN” and “The Translator” from the Planet KIKEN, a planet looking to expand their universe and claim planet earth as their own. They are ruthless and violent. Due to KIKEN’s violent nature, we advise against any humans wishing to conduct a ‘face to face’ or ‘close quarters’ interviews with members of KIKEN. Obviously, this deliberately inaccessible monster singularly isn’t reinventing music, but but it could be said that it’s redefining hardcore and extreme music a bit and this first song from the band’s new release ‘Rising’ is nothing but a proof of that. Fans of THE LOCUST and ANTIOCH ARROW will be stunned!
Spastic, disturbing and violent synths/bass and vocal onslaught from our soon to be alien overlords Hydra Kiken. The guitarist/vocalist of Life In Vacuum takes over vocal duties while Nick will melt your brain with the instrumentals and effects that sound like an intergalactic war. The songs range from a blitz of screamy post-punk/hardcore to what sounds like alien transmissions and choirs. This is a dark and mind-altering sonic experience.
The video for ‘Blood Moon’ is just as confusing as the genre jumping track. It’s an attempt to capture the confusion, the chaos and the demonization of the invading force, a snap shot of what to expect when lost in KIKEN’s fog of war.
KIKEN
We know now that in the early years of the twenty-first century, this world was being watched closely by intelligences greater than man’s and yet as mortal as his own. We know now that as human beings busied themselves about their various concerns, they were scrutinized and studied, perhaps almost as narrowly as a man with a microscope might scrutinize the transient creatures that swarm and multiply in a drop of water.
With infinite complacence, people went to and fro over the earth about their little affairs, serene in the assurance of their dominion over this small spinning fragment of solar driftwood, which by chance or design, man has inherited out of the dark mystery of Time and Space. Yet, across an immense ethereal gulf, minds that to our minds, as ours are to the beasts in the jungle—intellects vast, cool and unsympathetic—regarded this Earth with envious eyes and slowly and surely drew their plans against us.
It can now be revealed that interstellar transmissions have been received and deciphered by our planet’s top scientists. To the best of their abilities, these experts have determined this alien force is known as KIKEN and its warnings of an impending takeover have been conveyed through its interpretation of our human mode of music.
Given the fear it will surely instill amongst the global population, these recordings are being made available for public consumption with great trepidation. However, we feel it is our responsibility to make the human race aware of what awaits us, in the faint hope that we can band together to defeat this mysterious KIKEN, who by all indications, are prepared to stop at nothing to destroy Earth.
What follows are details of the transmissions, and please bear in mind that these were written by scientists and not music scholars:
Instruction 001: This 90-second film clip opens with proof that KIKEN are approaching Earth. The accompanying music is loud, aggressive, and disjointed, with elements that make it clear they are familiar with the styles know as heavy metal and free jazz. Further use of clips from old science fiction films appears intended to mock our perception of alien life.
Instruction 002: This second 90-second film clip contains another disturbing piece of music as the soundtrack to visuals that show KIKEN’s apparent fondness for our martial arts. Could the message be that we will need to train ourselves in these techniques in order to ensure our survival?
Blood Moon: A very sophisticated piece of music that uses rapid time changes and a range of strange voices to create a sense of complete disorientation in the listener. However, one colleague of Swedish heritage noted it reminded him of a well-known band from that country that goes by the name Refused.
Killer Instincts: A very brief piece that, by its title, seems self-explanatory.
Hounds From The Darkest Star: A comparably more conventional song, but no less impressive in terms of its sensory assault. Those who regularly indulge in listening to such sounds are sure to be at risk of being seduced by it.
Nest: This one-minute sonic collage once again shows KIKEN’s advanced knowledge of terrestrial recording techniques.
The Rising / The Hunt: Here is where the message is presented clearly: “We kill to live, we live to kill.” The lyrics further describe how KIKEN has looked upon the state of our world with disgust and will punish us for it. The use of animal sounds in this piece also proves that emissaries from their planet have been in our midst gathering information about our human interactions with other life forms.
Red Rooms: At less than one minute, this is another piece intended to inflict a maximum concentrated dose of psychic torture.
Aphillion: This piece, unlike the others, maintains the same slow, pounding tempo throughout. All indications point to the intent to demonstrate that KIKEN is unstoppable.
Oracle / No End: This is not so much a “song” as a collection of combined disparate sounds presented to leave us pondering what and when KIKEN’s next move will be.
Again, it is imperative that these transmissions not be judged by the same criteria used for music on Earth. These are the first indications that alien life truly does exist, and it is hostile. Please be forewarned and prepared to act in defense of our planet when the time comes.
Morton Welch PhD, Institute of Advanced Alien Studies (IAAS), Lima, Peru
‘Rising’ is the story of KIKEN’s arrival on planet earth.
The first track ‘Blood Moon’ is about the winds of war, chanting the prophecy of KIKEN’s destiny and outlining all the torturous events they have planned for humans.
The rest of the album documents KIKEN’s rally cries for Kikenittes to unite as they descend into earths atmosphere.
