Plague Mass (live album) by Diamanda Galás

How do I feel about this album? Hmmm.

1.This album makes me feel something different than any other album. And what is art other than a safe way to practice complex emotions. This stuff is frantic, raw, horrifying, grieving, and then some.
2. What's more, this album makes me think. As a relatively conservative, Christian man, I find an artistic statement this extreme, backed by such extreme pathos and purpose, prods me to introspection. It cuts deep when Galas sings Leviticus Ch 15. It actually makes the passage very vivid, in complete contrast with how I've always seen the Old Testament" law books. Thank you, Galas, for making relevant what I otherwise considered a dull and tedious read.
3. The immediate subject of this release is AIDS, but I feel the work has an even stronger attachment to the deeper contexts of the AIDS epidemic. I think this is too broad a point to cover, except in mere mentioning.
4. Finally, I think there are moments of real beauty. “Let My People Go" is terribly sad, and it is a punch in the gut, but it is beautiful.

This is a record that's impacted me like any profound art should, but, in truth, I rarely visit it.
PS: I generally listen to Gillian Welch's Time (The Revelator) right after this. Kindof a nice detox, if you will.

I'm not exaggerating when I say that this record literally hurt my ears. I found it disturbing to the point of turning it off very soon. Naturally I crept back to this grotesque beast to satisfy my curiosity, but like the first time I discovered scatological pornography it left me feeling deeply discomforted and even a little depressed. Suffice to say, I have little desire to come back to this nasty thing (just like I'm not particularly interested in watching someone shit into another person's mouth). That being said, if people dig this that's fine by me. I just don't understand it.