It has become a recurring concern of mine that I have set too broad a precedent for the kinds of music I want to talk about on AuraLink. Creating a blog with the intent to boost smaller artists is one thing, but I really have just been writing about anything I like regardless of consistency, much to the absolute dismay of the other back end people helping me support this place.

So obviously I’m going to exacerbate that problem today: ratking by bodyimage is an abrasive composition of industrial textures, morphing vocals, and a little bit of screaming. Contrary to my marketing major compatriots, I think this song is a masterpiece, as it’s nothing short of completely original in the way it blends the art and cinematics of it’s existence. ratking is a glimpse into a story with a lot of layers that I’m not even entirely sure I’m fully picking up on, but if nothing else its simultaneously full of allure and jealousy at different points. This is a story buried under mountains of distorted morphing bass and rapidly pulsing leads, only to cut away to nothing but plucky bass, some simple drums, and vocals processed to sound electrical in their tone. Instead of pulling from existing genre conventions I could compare it to, ratking is something all new sculpted from the screams of a billion synth dials, and it’s contrast from section to section is of astronomical levels as it bounces between it’s A and B sections. Even with cliff like drop offs from it’s gritty walls of sound to near nothing it’s done with such tact and composure that it feels like a natural progression.

I think the bridge of this song is particularly special as well in the way it carries us back from the blind aggression and percussive bass punches to a place of deep feeling and emotional intelligence. On my first listen this was what struck me the most. The section recycles the vocals from the songs earlier cutaway but now with far more chopped and shifted processing laid atop simple yet beautiful clean synth chords (emphasis on the clean part as this is a huge contradiction to the songs generally immensely distorted sound palette). Somehow while using the same vocals this section feels drenched in emotional desire and longing instead of cocky and boundary pushing as it does in it’s first iteration. In this moment we are lured to feel safe in this short reprieve, but the sense of security is entirely false as as soon as it begins, it ends, not just returning to the established violent soundscape but turning up to 11. In this moment simple words are burned into our ears, “RAT. KING. RAT. KING. RAT. KING” until we are suddenly left with a question and silence. Do you love me, or do you love him.

I can absolutely understand this not being a song for everyone. In fact I will go as far as to say this is a song for a very specific audience, but the audience it’s for will absolutely eat it up. Is it a bit extreme for the AuraLink clientele? Probably? I’ll certainly find out once you all read it, but what was the point of the blog if not to broaden the horizons of listeners? So embrace a bit of chaos, give it a listen, and repeat the words:

“RAT. KING. RAT. KING. RAT. KING”