Scandinavian jesters Ping had a tough job besting their second album The Castle Massacre, one of the zaniest rock albums of the decade. Discotheque of Darkness is a suitable follow-up, although it doesn’t sustain the same level of unbridled creativity, unabashed pastiche, and irreverence. Still, this 2009 CD offers quite a ride and, if anything, the band’s sound has grown tighter and more defined. Ping approach rock as a multi-faceted beast that can be tackled all at once: prog, punk, metal, country, big band, funk — all styles and genres to be imitated, transformed, and ridiculed. There is no “Like a Rock” here, no “Constantinople”, either, but the title track and “Flesh with a Wish” are fun tracks (the latter pairs heavy metal vocals with a disco groove). So is “Hick in the Mall” (concluding with the line “All in all you’re just another hick in the mall” — get it?), “The Soul in the Woodshed,” “The Customer & the Manufacturer,” and the extremely tongue-in-cheek “Cross Country Skiing” (where we’re advised to try skiing naked down a glacier). “(You Are the One That They Used to Call) Donkey Kong,” with its attempt at a Latin sound, is the only disappointing track. That leaves more than a few of the 15 songs in lukewarm territory. Once again, one must salute the group’s musicianship and willingness to thread the line between creativity and comedy. However, Discotheque of Darkness sounds like a toned-down version of The Castle Massacre, its extremes buffed. It may work better for you or not, but it’s still worth having anyway. – François Couture
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