Kalistani Major History

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Kaliburg Thrash Metal Band Structural Theory releases Anti War Album
"The Evils of War" advocates radical pacifist position
Kaliburg, Ananto
October 18, 5116


Structural Theory releases "The Evils of War" today calling for radical disarmament

The Kaliburg Music scene, long the mainstay of KMI metal bands has languished a bit following the 5075 demise of Alternica, who released their greatest seller "Justice is Blind" in 5072, and then followed it up with the dismally underperforming record "Blacker than Black" which saw their legions of fans boycott their shows for their shift from thrash to hard rock. It was a crucial misstep in their career which not only led to the band's disbanding, but also a demise of the scene itself.

Now, four decades later, Kaliburg thrash is giving it another try. Radical Brethrenists Structural Theory, from Lolla, Kaliburg, have signed with ARC Records, and have released their debut album "The Evils of War", a blistering 16 track screed against warfare and militarism, both in the Republic and in the world.

"We kind of got talked to by our Meetings for making such loud music," said lead singer Sergio Talmadge, of Kaliburg. "Our clerk asked 'How are the Brethren supposed to hear the voice of God while you are playing such loud music?' I informed him that we were led to make this music, to shout from the mountain in a voice that all can clearly hear, that war is evil and preparation for warfare is only slightly less wicked."

Talmadge said he and Structural Theory grew up in an era where the Republic is stable, well defended, and governed by benign neglect. "Kalistan doesn't have any enemies, maybe for the first time in its history. War is no where near our shores. But our leaders still look to procurement of military weaponry at an alarming rate. And right now, we don't have a NBC ban treaty. It's our hope that the Government puts one together to lay our marker on the cause of disarmament of those weapons of mass destruction."

Themes across the thrash album include the myths of recruitment, analysis of the concept that strong defense prevents war, and a critique of the National Defense Industry. "We reserve our strongest critique for the KALMILINCO," said lead guitarist Damon Martel. "That organization is tax funded, and it makes weapons for the Republic and for sale abroad with Kalistani Tax money. How the Socialists can ask Brethrenists to support this military industrial complex is beyond me. It's pretty perverse."

The Radical pacifist stance is most pronounced in songs like "Death Showers" which talk about nuclear fallout, "Soldier Tale" which talks about the enlistment of young people who would otherwise go into National Service, and who could wind up in a war that will destroy their lives, and "Captain Z and the Dethship" which discusses the panic and horror of a ship sinking following a torpedo explosion. "Lost to a watery grave/ No Souls left to save/ Burning flesh stripped in sheets/ Killing Life, Death Complete" are some of the more graphic lyrics of that song.

"We wanted to be as explicit in our lyrics as we are are in our music," said Talmadge. "Our drums sound like machine guns and artillery, our guitars sound like rock wash, and our bass sounds like percussive impacts of bombs. It's music which screams anti war from start to stop." The metal on this album frequently veers off toward progressive rock complexity, with several time changes in a song, along with music which sounds, in a lot of places, like classical, played with electric instruments. In many cases, the lyrics are shouted rather than sung, but Talmadge's unique and strong singing voice seems to be the standout feature on this album. Nobody sounds like him in the current Kalistani music scene.

Time will tell whether there is a market for such a strong anti-war message in a time of peace, but bassist Casey Connors was optimistic. "Now is the best time for it! Now is when people get complaisant and start allowing dictators to rise who would want to take us to war. What we need is a strong Brethrenist commitment to the anti-war position in Kalistan. We are a country where 4/5ths of the population are Brethrenists. There is no reason why we shouldn't."

[Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bE2r7r7VVic]
Structural Theory's lead single "Death Showers" is out today with the album's release.