PIG : "Hurt People Hurt People"

 Raymond Watts is not only a founding member of KMFDM, but has also worked with Psychic TV, Foetus, and Einstürzende Neubauten, making him industrial royalty. This is clear when you hear the heart-thumping lead single"Tosca's Kiss Things" that steers the album in a direction that is brooding and bombastic all at once. Jim Davies of Prodigy and Pitchshifter fame aids him in these endeavors. The vocals are not an afterthought but an emotional expression that adds more depth to the crunching, larger-than-life anthems that unfold here. The range from a gothy baritone croak to a more glam rock-inflected croon. 

With the kind of beats that established him in KMFDM, clearing the path on songs like "Sex  & Suicide." The album continues to flex its dynamic range. The title track is a recovery-themed musing that ironically carries a Marilyn Manson vibe.  "Scars" emerges from a chaotic dark hole and is not as groove-focused, but carries a quirky Tim Burton feel. There is more of a grimy machine-powered march, "Quid Pro Quo," that makes me think more of a 90s industrial. The synth sounds are well-layered on this one, though the entire album sounds great, and I found the perfect mix. 

There is an almost gospel melody that hovers in the background of "Ruins", as well as other contrasting sounds that come from left field. With lyrical references to a church of fire, I suppose it's the subtext to this."DNA" hits the hardest groove, and it the most dancefloor appropriate song thus far. The big layers of backing vocals on the chorus carry a KMFDM mood. "Imposter" required a second listen to fully digest; it was not as dynamic as the last song. It carries a creepier, more bluntly unsettling feel like a Manson tune. The last song contrasts this with a greater melodic range. 

The Verdict

Overall his experience in defining this genre shows him displaying his mastery of this while bringing a new mood to the table rather than a recycled attempt at nostalgia, so I will give this album a 9, and see how it grows on me. 

Drops May 27th on Metropolis Reccords

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Revenge of the Weekly Shuffle

This used to be a popular little thing around here I did once a week, then went in and out of the habit so rather than making promises and saying it's back for good, I'm doing it this week. The drill is I press shuffle on the ole iPod and review  the first ten songs that pop up.

"Christ Denied" by Deicide...I was on the fence with post-Once Upon the Christ Deicide, but they do seem to have their moments. It's well played, and the interplay between the bass and drums has always carried a more Motorhead like steamroller effect than that of other death metal bands and is one of the elements that has to be in place to really capture their sound. Some of the more slickly produced albums mixed this out. This song has it so it works for .

"Big Sky" by Kate Bush...Hounds of Love might be one of her most popular albums and for good reason it does have a big Peter Gabriel feel to it. This song is almost too happy, but the album is on here, some times I am in more of a mood to this song than others, right now I am impartial to it.

"Cantara" by Dead Can Dance...Sure this is great for what it is, t cool for rituals and ambiance, but they have other songs that are more like songs than this one. Not Lisa's best song but even then she pulls off more than most female singers aside from Kate Bush can do. Live she had one of the most powerful voices I have ever heard.

"Stairs-Uncertain Journey" by Christian Death...One of the great Rozz Williams moments, has every element that makes them great. Lyrically one of their strongest songs, I use to chant to myself in high school... "Satan be, satan be, satan be". What a hook.

"Wall of Death"by Prodigy... Here is one I haven't gotten around to reviewing. I have not given this album much time and it's the first time hearing this song. The synths are very thick and Nine Inch Nails like. They do have a fair amount of reptition in what they do. This song is like industrial cotton candy.

"Amnesia" by Swans... This one has a similar exotic feel as the Christian Death song. It is hard pressed to say that any off of "To Be Kind" or any of their current post-hippie fest live material holds up to this kind of song writing. There that had to be said.

"Black Oceans" by Crowhurst... Recently reviewed so you know most of my thoughts on this one. Not something I am hitting repeat on incessantly , but I am glad when it does pop up. The darkness drips of the angular slither of this one.

"Five Years" by David Bowie... Ziggy Stardust is a perfect album so there are no songs on it that can be argued against. "I never thought I'd meet so many people" is my favorite line for some way, perhaps it's how he backs off of it.

"Quiero, Quieras" by Forget Cassettes...This goes back to a time when indie rock actually rocked. Why can't there be more of this? This chick has more balls than a dozen of todays indie rock bands. Having the drummer from And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Our Dead doesn't hurt.

"Pagans" by Protomartyr ...I was supposed to go see these guys last night , but the though of havin to sit through the opening bands and leave the house was too much. But this is a great record.