Written by Kirk
Fire at the Plantation House —Southampton Insurrection
> Progressive metal
> California, US
> Releasing May 3
> Independent/self-release
I really don’t think we as a society spend enough time discussing the timelessness and importance of N.W.A.’s classic song “Fuck tha Police.” For starters, it’s an absolute banger. 10/10. No notes. It’s also a cultural landmark, not that anti-police or protest songs weren’t a thing before the release of Straight Outta Compton on August 8, 1988. As a matter of fact, there is an extremely long and rather distinguished history of protest songs dating as far back as the 18th century, and that’s just in the United States. And while the subject matter of these songs has covered a great many topics such as poverty, racism, slavery, women’s rights, politics, and war, the mantra of “Fuck tha Police” is far from a new sentiment. If anything, N.W.A. simply tapped into an old sentiment and decided to be a little more…direct.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock or have managed to completely divest yourself from modern society (complimentary) up to now, it’s likely very well-known that a rather large portion of the population is extremely unhappy and generally fed up with the current state of policing in the U.S. There has been a growing outcry of “Defund the Police!” as we see an ever-increasing lack of accountability for a police force that, for all intents and purposes, neither protects nor serves the people But where did this all begin? Would you believe me if I told you that modern American policing began with hunting down and capturing runaway slaves prior to the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863? And while that presidential decree and executive order did not completely end the practice of hunting down and capturing former slaves, it was at least a step towards a rather noble goal: equality.
Here’s where John Angel comes in. In the wake of George Floyd’s murder at the hands of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, John was desperate to find an outlet for the outrage he felt at seeing yet another casualty of the systems of oppression. He saw a direct parallel between the protests in the wake of George Floyd’s death and Nat Turner’s Rebellion in August 1831 (minus the 55 to 65 dead white people, of course). Inspired by how events from the past often leave an indelible mark on the present and future, he began furiously writing what would eventually become Southampton Insurrection, the debut album for his solo project Fire at the Plantation House.
So what does it mean to be a person of privilege writing a concept album about the deadliest slave uprising in U.S. history? As someone formally trained in both classical and jazz guitar, for John it’s about exploring the history of Nat Turner’s Rebellion and bringing it to life. When he learned of the theory that negro spirituals, originated from the slaves in the antebellum southeastern United States, were used to communicate and coordinate amongst their peers without arousing the suspicion of their white oppressors, it gave him the inspiration to combine modern technical death metal with bluegrass, neo-soul, and sacred choir—all styles of music that originated from the same spirituals that inspired him—and take on the role of storyteller, reminding us of America’s dark origins. Fire at the Plantation House is about shining light upon the truth in the hopes that we can learn from our past and heal ourselves for the future.
The album opens with the title track, and it gives us a taste of the setting for the story that’s about to unfold. There’s the unmistakable sound of cicadas chirping all around us, and then the soft strumming of an acoustic guitar before the riffs kick in and it’s go time. John employs one of my favorite storytelling techniques: pulling us into the middle of the narrative before allowing us to properly get our bearings. But there’s an insurrection taking place, so there really isn’t time for us to stop and catch our breath. There’s houses to burn and slaveowners to kill! And John’s riffs here match the mood perfectly.
Now we take a step back and start over from the beginning. “Go in the Wilderness I: The Republic According to Wilbur” sets the stage for the beginnings of the carnage to come. It is the first in a series of narrative pieces that build the world of Southampton County, VA in 1831. Where our story truly begins is with the next track, “Go in the Wilderness II: Dawn Approaches”; here, Nat Turner speaks of one of the many visions he had leading up to the impending insurrection. And now we get into the heart of the matter with “The Battle of Jerusalem”, as the local militia has been deployed to quell Nat Turner’s rebellion. One of my favorite songs on the album, it’s a sprawling 11:14 with an absolute cornucopia of riffs.
What follows is “A Black Hand Reaches Over the Sun,” easily the most brutal song on the record. More straightforward death metal influences appear than in what has been heard prior, and it references Nat Turner’s final vision before executing his plan as he flees the battlefield and goes into hiding. Now a fugitive, Nat Turner is a man hunted as “Go in the Wilderness III” switches narrators as “The Southampton Examiner I: Swamp People” accept Nat Turner onto their land in celebration of his heroic deeds. Finally, closing out the album is “The Southampton Examiner II & III: Blood in the Swamp/The Assembly Considered Abolition” as it chronicles the final days of Nat Turner and the impact his rebellion had on America.
THE BOTTOM LINE
If there’s one thing metalheads can all agree on, it’s the importance of the riff. So much so that some amongst us will place its significance above all else. But a man cannot live on riffs alone, and John Angel knows this. Is Southampton Insurrection packed with killer riffs? Of course, and a huge variety of them at that! But what John brings to the table that is of even more importance is songwriting. He weaves an incredibly potent and compelling narrative about an important part of American history. And songwriting—much less storytelling—is something that heavy metal often sorely lacks. It’s hard to say if Fire at the Plantation House will signal a shift in the landscape of metal, but it certainly should. And Southampton Insurrection is an album that delivers again and again and again.