One Day You Will Ache Like I Ache, the Courtney Love/Hole reference in the title is unabashedly brazen, yet remarkably fitting for the recent collaborative effort from Maryland’s Full of Hell and Portland, Oregon’s the Body.
Both bands are known for their various partnerships with other prolific musical acts over the years, such as Full of Hell’s previous work with Japanese noise musician Merzbow, while the body has shared musical endeavors with a plethora of other acts, like Lousiana’s Thou or New Jersey’s Krieg.
“The idea came about pretty simply” says Full of Hell vocalist Dylan Walker. “The Body likes to collaborate with friends, so when we started talking and had really hit it off, it seemed like an obvious thing to bring up. We were so excited that they asked. We hadn’t really planned on doing another collaboration in the near future but there was no way we could say no.”
The aforementioned shared endeavors showcase particular elements of sound that pair well with one another: Merzbow is known for his artistry with noise, a clear influence on Full of Hell, while the Body and Thou match each other’s muddy sludge riffs tit for tat. Yet on this collaborative endeavor, the two artists couldn’t be more different, as each reside on the opposite end of the “heavy” spectrum, a point that is visually explained in the cover art of the record.
One Day You Will Ache Like I Ache’s album art appears to resemble stalagmites and stalactites, extremes representing the Body on one end, with Full of Hell on the other. The listener is caught between their collective aural assault.
Walker continued, explaining that “The writing process was very organic. We didn’t write anything before entering the studio, aside from throwing around some basic ideas while we were on tour together. We had ideas for song motifs here and there, and many times ended up following Dave (Bland , Full of Hell) and Lee’s (Buford, the Body) lead (the drummers). This is a very drum-ccentric record.”
This is immediately realized within the first few seconds of the title track. An isolated electronic “doop”, followed by what sounds like the crash of a baseball bat against a trash can. 39 seconds in and the ride begins as a pounding, furious riff breaks out. Walker screams over the din, as the sound fades into a relentless barrage of fuzzy noise, complimented with bizarrely placed drum fills. Sludgy riffs creep forward, reminding me of something that the Body’s Buford said recently: it’s “negative…but a hopeful negative.” This is also one of the few times I personally have been exposed to Chip King’s (the Body) vocals. His tortured screams sound like the need for something to work, just for once.
“One Day You Will Ache Like I Ache” has a nice bleed into the second track, “Fleshworks”, where listeners are treated to a bizarre amount of sampling and electronica, kept on time by a rhythmic tribal drum beat. “Fleshworks” fades out with a comforting onslaught of noise, which segues to one of the more peculiar aspects of One Day You Will Ache Like I Ache. It’s hard to imagine this record containing a Leonard Cohen cover, but the two bands manage to tear apart Cohen’s “The Butcher,” making it unrecognizable. Pinpoints of feedback squeeze their way through the massive wall of sound, but as a whole the track is rather repetitive, with creative nods going to interesting drum fills and tasteful uses of noise.
Walker on the choice of covering Leonard Cohen: “I love Leonard Cohen. I was driving home from work one day listening to Cohen when this song came on, it was always one of my favorites because of how dark it is. I thought it would be so amazing if a band like the Body covered a song this heavy. The lyrics that they write even remind me of this. So, when the collaboration idea came up, I suggested it and thankfully everyone was okay with it.”
The record continues on and the noise becomes a comforting, familiar element midway through, as the cacophony reaches intense levels on tracks like “Gehorwilt” and “Bottled Urn”, where heavy industrial beats blast full force.
One Day You Will Ache Like I Ache concludes with “The Little Death”, a thinly veiled reference to the French “le petite mort”, the state of weakening commonly associated with orgasm, is true to its name as it ushers in a climactic finish with blown out vocals and bursting drums. This song passes through several stages, beginning with general anticipation, leading into fear. The sludge ushers in acceptance, as a sound clip from the HBO special You Don’t Know Jack plays. “You’re sensing the loss of things / Loss, loss, loss, loss, loss, loss / So let’s talk about that if you could.”
With this, Walker’s feelings aboutOne Day You Will Ache Like I Ache come full circle, as he says that ultimately, “This record is about the human spirit and the battering it can withstand, the cruelty of man and the world and that there is no shame in giving in and giving up.”