Variety Is The Spice Of Metal
by Steev Hise
"Born in the springtime of '65 I was cursed with the vision to see both sldes I was afraid to move or take a stand or make a vow I was in the shadow of a a doubt but l am much better now that I say: 'fight team fight!'" -Mol Triffid, "Deen Neeb's Metal Effort"
Most local music fans are aware that Ann Arbor's Mol Triffid is into more than just jamming some cool rock riffs. This band is intent on communicating innovative and serious ideas, though often in a humorous way.
Their contradictory style is surprising but appropriate. Bassist Dave Sahijdak explains that the band did not form with "one cohesive concept. We approach it song by song." The band's 1989 single, "I Wanna See Pretty People Doing Ugly Things" b/w "Deen Neeb's Metal Effort," displays this penchant for open-minded variety. In the former, singer/performer Kurt Serbus praises the merits of sadomasochism, while on the flipside he argues with himself over conformity and hyperpatriotism. Half of "Deen Neeb's" is sung through a megaphone, producing an insistent alter-ego voice which torments the confused protagonist of the song.
Kurt, amazingly quiet and reserved - compared to his on stage persona - explains how "DeenNeeb's" is the story of "the Reagan era, easy choices... a guy losing to the fascist inside him."
"I don't pass judgement. I just write about a situation," says Kurt. He writes the lyrics after Dave, guitarist Kimo, and drummer Scott Mast create the power-metal structure that will be the song's backbone. Kurt's ingenuity with words combined with the explosive energy of the band gives intense meaning to "William Shatner Sleeps on the Eve of the Harmonic Convergence; He Dreams..." "William Shatner is the epitomy of the male machismo image," explains the singer. Kurt, as Shatner, boasts of his exploits, "felling the mighty sequoia and splitting the tiny atom ." On stage, he struts around, yelling the refrain, "I'm a man!" while the thunderous, primal music churns around him. However, the harmonic era soon arrives, in which woman takes over. At the song's conclusion, the reign of the archetypal male ends when he looks up at the stars and screams in horror, "they're lining up against... me!"
Dave cites their song "Media Clowns" as a response to the media's treatment of events like the Persian Gulf war. "Did any of this really happen?" he asks. "We don't know. We're spoon-fed facts by the media." The song's rapid fire lyrics and schizophrenically hyperactive music simulate the manner in which the media barrages the public with information.
Rock music, especially Mol Triffid's particular brand of it, seems to provide a catharsis for both its creators and audiences. You can see this clearly at any Triffid gig as Kurt explodes into his wild stage persona and the crowd of fans thrash and slam in appreciation. How effective is this anarchic release, though? Thirty-odd years of rock music has seen it become an industry and an inseparable part of society. As Kimo states, "Rock isn't really a form of rebellion any more. It's just something that's done." However, this trend toward normalcy in the rock scene influences him and the band to create more and more innovative and unusual music. "It is a legitimate art form," says Dave, "Art is people creating, and we've created."
Unfortunately, there may not be much more time to experience Mol Triffid's art in Ann Arbor, for they will soon be moving to the bigger scene of the Berkeley, California area. First, though, they're planning an East Coast tour in May, and recording for a possible album this summer. The reason for it all, they say, is to play live, communicating their musical ideas and energy to other people.