ALBUM REVIEW: CALIGULA – LINGUA IGNOTA
One of the beautiful things about music is the unlimited power it has to draw emotions in people, in both those who are composing it and those who are listening to it. For Kristin Hayter, who performs under the moniker of LINGUA IGNOTA, this power takes on a form that is truly devastating in both context and delivery. Hayter is a survivor of domestic violence, having been the victim of abusive relationships for a number of years, and her songs, which she describes as ‘survivor anthems’, are an expression of her ordeals and experiences during these periods. She came to prominence with LET THE EVIL OF HIS OWN LIPS COVER HIM and ALL BITCHES DIE, both released in 2017 and, with the encouragement from Profound Lore Records to maintain the uncompromising brutality of her music, is now ready to release her third, CALIGULA, later this month via the same label.
Given the nature of the theme, the last thing this record was going to be was a jovial pop-punk affair with infectious choruses and catchy riffs. What CALIGULA represents is the human psyche of someone going through the horrific ordeal of a lover that mistreats them in the most despicable way imaginable: a bleak, twisted landscape of agony and unrepentant hurt that cuts to the bone from every angle. Hayter’s background as a multi-instrumentalist and classical musician means she has an exceptional ability to structure songs in such a way that regardless of how much the listener may shift in their seat, they remain fully gripped to the album. Even the opening song, FAITHFUL SERVANT FRIEND OF CHRIST, with its angelic, choral overtones, is sinister and unsettling, the introduction to eleven songs that pull in every direction for the duration. The tracks go from gentle piano and emotion-laden singing to unremitting screams of torture and abrasive distortion, particularly on the menacing MAY FAILURE BE YOUR NOOSE, which finishes with a cacophony of noise and sound.
The biggest strength of CALIGULA, though, is the lyrical prowess that Hayter holds within her. For all her piercing shrieks and screams, it’s the words that are sung clean which hit home the most. In DO YOU DOUBT ME TRAITOR, the first indication that she is directly addressing her abuser across the record, she threatens “If you rise up to heaven, I’ll turn the sun to blind you; If you sleep deep in hell, I have chains to bind you,” a powerful message that instantly gets under the skin. She finds time to lambaste religion as well; “All God’s love means nothing now!” during FRAGRANT IS MY MANY FLOWER’D CROWN a standout line showing that even divine intervention cannot hold a candle to the despair she is feeling. Perhaps most cutting is the opening line to SPITE ALONE HOLDS ME ALOFT; “All who their proclaim their love betray me,” turning from a mournful lament into a guttural wrench and back, showing the difference between inner desolation and outwards expression in the most striking of ways, the impact only increasing as drums and jarring piano enter and fade away to a repeated, almost ritualistic chant of “Kill them all“, with the title of the song layered alongside.
Understandably, this is not an easy listen and repeated spins don’t aid that either. What CALIGULA is also, however, is the most harrowing and unnerving listen of 2019 so far, perhaps even overall. The path that LINGUA IGNOTA walks isn’t so much dark as pitch black, and Hayter has conveyed that superbly. It might be difficult to experience, but it’s a brilliant journey through the pain and anguish that so many go through on a daily basis, one that will be as cathartic to people as it is corrosive. In a world where #MeToo is prominent, CALIGULA gets to the heart of the matter in the most real, disturbing way possible.
Rating: 9/10
CALIGULA is set for release July 19th via Profound Lore Records.
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