Broken Gargoyles

Diamanda Galas album Broken Gargoyles began as a sound installation held at the Kapellen Leprosarium in Hanover, Germany (a sanctuary in which sufferers of leprosy were placed in quarantine during the Middle Ages). It incorporates text by German expressionist poet Georg Heym, specifically "Das Fieberspital" ("The Fever Hospital") and "Die Damonen der Stadt" ("The Demons of the Cities"). The poems describe the treatment of patients diagnosed with yellow fever, particularly soldiers injured in combat -- the title Broken Gargoyles refers to World War I soldiers whose bodies had become disfigured. Returning to the format of Galas early albums, such as The Litanies of Satan and The Divine Punishment, Broken Gargoyles consists of two sidelong pieces, "Mutilatus" and "Abiectio." Over thudding piano chords and arresting industrial noise, Galas multi-tracked vocals shriek, wail, and recite Heyms writings (in their original language), interpreting the grim reality of the hospital patients and combat veterans. At some points, her voice is processed into a pitched-down cyber-growl, resembling a demonic electrolarynx; during another moment, she erupts into mocking, sinister cackling. Still other parts contain gagging, abrasive creaking, and voices electronically manipulated so that any semblance of language is smeared out of them, leaving only agony and terror. Though the subject matter as well as the performance, recording, and presentation is entirely in line with everything Galas has done as an artist since the 1970s, her voice is as strong as its ever been, and she has lost none of her ability to convey extreme horror while making pointed statements about injustice and the tragedy of the human condition. Broken Gargoyles is yet another tremendous work from one of the most singular, incomparable artists of her era. ~ Paul Simpson