My favorite documentary filmmaker, Adam Curtis, said in a podcast I listened to recently that while his films focus on the complex webs of oppression we’re all caught in, what he ultimately wants to convey is that we made these systems—and that means we can undo them. And isn’t the system’s favorite old adage that “this is the way things have always been.” Whether we’re talking about racial oppression, gender oppression, financial oppression—this is how it’s always been, and actually, things are a lot better now. Because you could be a serf living in a hovel and getting 215 vacation days every year. But that was in Europe; North American capitalism is much more fond of straight-up slavery.
My point here is that in listening to the suffocating sounds of vegan death grind horde Blood Mouth, I’m thinking about how I contribute to the carnist industrial complex. I’d never heard that term before, but as soon as I read it in their bio I knew exactly what it is. It’s the intricately designed system of nutrition lobbying, carnivore PR, factory farming, chain restaurants, and superstore supermarkets that have convinced us to eat animal products for every meal, while trying to hide their nefarious “cultivation” methods behind patented terms like “free-range” and “grain-fed” and “has only spent the first 6 months of its life covered in its own, and others, feces.” In other words, terrorism and genocide of certain animal populations, while simultaneously wiping out hundreds of species daily by contributing to deforesting and climate change.
I’m not a vegan, but as I gaze at the images flashing across my screen for their video “Spoiled Gaze” that we’re premiering today, I’m realizing that’s because I’m one of the dupes. The way they’ve tied organized religion’s doctrines of human supremacy and white supremacy and god complexes to our vile assembly lines of disemboweled and dismembered animals is pretty damn spot on. And the music is just…horrifically pleasing if you’re a fan of sounds that want to infest your brain like maggots and eat their way out of your worthless skull!
Bloodmouth‘s new album Unmanned is due out November 19 via Brilliant Emperor Records — pre-order it here and here. Right now enjoy our premiere of “Spoiled Gaze” and remember that we can undo what we’ve created.
