{"id":99798,"date":"2020-02-13T11:00:54","date_gmt":"2020-02-13T17:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/toiletovhell.com\/?p=99798"},"modified":"2020-02-12T21:45:53","modified_gmt":"2020-02-13T03:45:53","slug":"nature-is-beautiful-vol-vi-mollusca-friends","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/toiletovhell.com\/nature-is-beautiful-vol-vi-mollusca-friends\/","title":{"rendered":"Nature Is Beautiful (Vol. VI – Mollusca & Friends)"},"content":{"rendered":"
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It’s easy to understand why molluscs and other aquatic invertebrates tend to slip under the radar of human fascination; whether coated in beer batter or leaking from some shell dropped from on high by a screaming gull, the species (and dishes) we have regular access to can seem dull in color and devoid of notable features. If you’ll excuse my biological jargon, they appear somewhat blobular<\/em>. Despite a few glaring exceptions<\/a>, they’re not flashy like the birds-of-paradise, and we tend to relate easier to animals with two eyes.<\/p>\n

However, if we meet them in their world, this illusion of minor, simple creatures quickly evaporates. Forests of Christmas Tree worms<\/a> adorn massive Brain Corals, scallops propel themselves by flapping their bivalved shells, and oysters encase irritants in precious prisons of nacre. From the delicate to the downright peculiar, these invertebrate phyla are rife with specimens that will steal your heart (or breath, if you’re not careful). Come, let us submerge ourselves.<\/p>\n

Orange Sheath Tunicate – Reduction of the cerebral ganglion<\/span><\/h2>\n

There’s more to tech slam than sounding like the name of an obnoxious Silicon Valley conference\u2014it’s also a marriage of the most lowbrow and pretentious genres of metal. In the wild, its practitioners can be identified by their camouflaged hides (but make sure it’s glitch<\/em> camo, this is the dystopian future after all) and lyrics that read like somebody hit Watson’s sci-fi database with a sledgehammer. This stew of troglodytic death and technical prowess aims to thrill with its stylistic extremities, but appears absolutely analogous compared to the Orange Sheath Tunicate.<\/p>\n

So you like to get ignorant with your breakdowns? Your riffs have more artificial harmonics than brain cells? *Laughs in shrinking brain<\/em>.* When the larvae of the Orange Sheath Tunicate anchor themselves to a surface (becoming sessile<\/em>, or immobile), the cerebral ganglion, associated with movement, is greatly reduced in size. “Ok, they dumb, but can they tech?” you ask. Tunicates are the only animals capable of WBR (whole body regeneration); from just their peripheral blood vessels, tunicates can regenerate all body tissues, leading scientists to believe totipotent<\/a> stem cells flow in their blood. You bet your buns those cells can 8-string sweep.<\/p>\n

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“Broh, you ever realize we’re buds too?” *inhales through all branchial siphons at once*<\/p><\/div>\n

Wormhole<\/strong>‘s “DS-3” strikes a fine balance between abhorrence and musicality. With each lurching slam, a disbelieving smile rises to the surface, a smile brought on by millions of years of evolution going to waste. (It’s a lot of fun.) The absurdity of the riffing on display is matched only by the virtuosity of the guitar leads\u2014bright fluids running beneath alien flesh. This combination of beauty and belligerence sticks to memory like a parasite, digging deep into the ancient brain.<\/p>\n