Death Masque
Original Release Date: 05/25/2683
Death Masque was known for their cheeky self-portrayal: mixing language and cover art that expressed a much darker product, but underneath lived a bright, punchy, and dreamy language. This trend did not stop with their 2683 album Incorrupt Tongue, a surprisingly grim love note to those who had failed to decay. Dotted with poppy melodies floating above underground rhythm, it was a small turning point in their sonic journey. No longer separating music and image fully, this proved to be a marriage fans had been waiting for. Across the Universe, there are examples of those young and old, brave and evil, who failed to succumb to the natural ravages of decomposition. It is this fascination with who is granted this ability that led Death Masque's drummer, Rhippley zod Uhirla, to pen most of the album's songs, simply asking "why?". The material here finds inspiration in the lives of those who lie in eternal rest for creatures to gawk at and snap a few instant photos of, and weaves in the horror of this strange self-preservation. Could the undead return to us one day, angry for being portrayed on apparel and drinkware? Are we as a Universe actively mocking those who could not outlast death by keeping them from peace? Bodies would be adorned with gold and jewel-encrusted crowns; in rare situations, their organs were preserved in separate, gilded jars alongside artifacts from the once-living. It was not lost on the band that, with a name like Death Masque, this transition in their style and focus risked wandering into dangerous territory and alienating their audience because of their expectations. The band held their breath during the album's initial release, hoping that the slow crawl into becoming their own sideshow attraction would be quelled with Incorrupt Tongue. Rhippley confessed that he lay awake for days, imagining his body, and his bandmates', suspended in oil for others to see, a tour guide explaining that they, the band, had been preserved in a state before they completely sold out and changed their sound. It was a tense week leading up to the first sales report. However, not only was the album a hit, it was a smash hit. Audiences new and old cheered for what they had hoped would arrive: a melding of art and music that perfectly encapsulated Death Masque and the trail they had blazed. Incorrupt Tongue was the proverbial lightning in a bottle, a shift that many bands would never have attempted or died trying. Making use of the Theremin, haunting strings, and a poppy sense of superiority, the album bops along at a frantic pace. Not because there is so much to cover, but because the future was wide open and this was only the beginning. Gimmicky viewings of martyrs and pariahs are taken semi-seriously here, a quick bait-and-switch between creepy myths and heroic tales, always asking, "Why?" Incorrupt Tongue propelled the band into even more experimental outputs, such as 2689's Valley of the Dawn of the Undead, but it would not live up to the sudden lane change. Ironically, after the band had fully passed away in the mid-2750s, they, too, were put on display, for their years of substance abuse had somehow preserved their bodies in quite a surprising state. Incorrupt Tongue would play on a loop as tour guides excitedly took fans through the chronicle of Death Masque's musical lives, making sure everyone received a free t-shirt and custom mug, not with the band's more youthful likeness, but of their new, macabre death masks.
Side A
Laid To Rest
Rotting Relic
Arterial Gold
Venerated
Side B
Odour of Sanctity
Cursed Mummifications
Bog Body
Glowing Gisant