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There’s a reason why I purposely
avoid reading what “others” say about artists before setting in to
do a review. And that reason tonight has become all too clear—I don’t
happen to agree with a lot of what the others have said and on this
one occasion I’ve now got all of these ideas, from others running
through my head clouding my better judgment.
While I’ll agree that this is a pretty smokin’ record in terms of
heaviness in guitar dominance, with a slight passion for the obscene,
I still haven’t determined where the rap or hard-core elements come
in. And a heavier Anthrax? No, that’s not really the case… whoever
made that association must only know Anthrax’s newest album and even
then this group is not a heavier version of them.
Abusement Park is a wild bunch of lads though I’ll give ‘em
that… wild looking and absolutely bent with determination. They’re
not the types to win approval from anyone’s parents to be sure.
Following the same lead as, say a Marilyn Manson, the four members
have a knack for the outrageous, a true band of freaks this one but
that’s where the comparison ends. Abusement Park opts for a
straighter edge in their music, shying away from the obvious which
would be to do the glam-rock thing and only a hint of industriousness,
“Electric…” is raw and hard-edged, opinionated and as distasteful
as a pint of bitters on a bright Sunday morning.
With sinister intent, the band cuts and slices through inflammatory
numbers as “Submit,” “Manufacture God,” and “Sin & Ecstacy”
sounding very underproduced, almost inferior to a point, but giving
it an underwritten charm, submitting only to their own hostile will
rather than an overcrowded studio setting.
Mr. Ginger Bond who leads the band looks like a cross between Boy
George and Taime Downe—both in their earliest forms I might add. No
it ain't pretty but his and the bands' as a unit from an image perspective
breeds an offspring playfully made up of satire and anger squeezed
together in a fist clenched out of dread and disgust.
Looking at the back cover of “Electric Spanking Session,” I
can’t get the idea of where Detroit J. Sullivan is supposed to fit
in the scheme of things as his profile in the lower right corner kind
of puts you back in the Kennedy era for a brief moment, as his resemblance
to the late Mr. John F. is striking.
The band has enough going for them musically that if they can just
get themselves heard enough, and maybe learn the value of melody to
get ‘em out of a tight spot or two, they’ll be able to outlast the
theatrical aspect that had to have made them a fashionable hit earlier
in their career. So, that said, anybody out there wanna get spanked?
Website : http://www.webpst.com/bands/abuse/index.htm
Review by Vinnie Apicella.
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