Is It Dead?Various Artists |
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Three different labels, eleven different artists, and a whole lotta noise! In what's been billed as the Pacific Northwest's answer to the glut of Power Pop princes and Punk Rock pransters parading their faded Rock and Roll glories for all to see, here's the equivalent to a rotting carcass put to music by way of a number of underground groups trying to make a name for themselves. The culmination of roster space comes together here to bring the likes of Homo Eradicus, Teen Cthulhu and Bloodhag to the surface to expose the nether-regions of Rock music and its darker side… and there's no denying this will make ya cringe from the first notes on. Maddening to the extremes, you'll get a fistful of violent riffs, deafening screams and chilling Hard-Core blasts the likes of which you'd not only never have expected but quite likely will never want to witness again. Where Hollywood Mike Miranda fits into the equation is beyond me but the Seattle-based Noise-corists give it their all for about two minutes worth of public drunkenness and pretty much leave it all on the table… and I mean all! I just don't wanna be the one to clean it up afterwards. But I like their motivations-"If there's "Grass on the Field…" and you can assume the rest. The production level throughout is pure old-school in all its barely audible glory, which works well for the likes of Old Rawler who might otherwise be considered the grooviest of the bunch if not for that black cloud hanging over their collective head! "Responsive Equipment" is their contribution and I can't remember the last time I heard such an excruciatingly dark guitar sound-you'd probably have to look all the way back to the earliest Celtic Frost demos and even that's a stretch. Both features a live clip called "Hutton's Great Heat Engine" which, go figure, was probably the clearest recording up to that point on the record! Akimbo begins innocently enough with "The Lotus Eaters" then proceeds into this indescribably Death-Rock noise that even on my best days I'd have difficulty keeping time to! "Is It Dead?" Hardly, in fact the "It" they refer to, the "Heavy" music scene is in fact alive, though we'll hold off on the "well" part-I mean, alive and well could never be applied to something so collectively sick and twisted. But an altogether interesting mix of noxious elements momentarily put on display for the world to witness the slow decay of the once heralded Seattle sound. Released by Crash Rawk/Sub Pop/Rock & Roleplay Records Review by Vinnie Apicella
[va85@columbia.edu] |