Great Falls : "The Bite That Grows Up"

This band features members of Kiss It Goodbye, Undertow, and Playing Enemy. However, musically, this time around they are playing sludge with shouted noise rock vocals. Thi si not to say their hardcore pasts do not shine through as they do. The creepier, more melodic passages are some of the most interesting parts of the opening track, and it makes the build-up pack more punch when it comes. The vocals are emotional, but burlier than screamo, so a lot is going on here. They blast into the more punk "Pinned Against Time". It is as chaotic as you might like your power-violence, but without fitting the parameters of that genre. It is, however, not as well written as the first song. 

The bass player is going crazy on "Worse Than Sleep," but for the sake of their sonic oddity and confrontational collision, they sometimes sacrifice the finer points of songwriting for this sound. This is, however, a little better than the previous song, as it locks into a tense palm-muted groove of sorts. They can obviously play their instruments and are capable of delivering, but are possessed by a fetish for aural abrasion. So three songs in and they are obviously more of a noise-rock band. "Hailstone Numbers" is the most minimalist, with his howling the focal point until midway in, when they start bringing the wall of crunch down. The drummer is impressive here, but finding a groove might work better. They throw in some angular riffs to jerk you around and command your attention. At seven and a half minutes, this is the album's longest song. There is, however, some dynamic ebb and flow that fans of this sort of thing might appreciate. "Debt Ethics" finds the drummer approaching it more like free-form jazz, where they jam around. If King Missle were angrier, they might have done something like this. 

At this point, I am getting sick of the vocals. It does not seem like "Nicotine in the Spine" is going to change my mind in this regard. Sure, I don't mind when Henry Rollins does this sort of thing, just like I think Ian Curtis's voice works for Joy Division, but I don't need to hear other bands doing that. There is some darker dissoance I appreciate. Two mintues in and they get more aggressive. This builds up into a furious buzz; "Buildings Full of Rope" just feels like what they build the previous song into, though it ends with a more metallic riff. I like the contrast they pull off with the more deliberate drumming conrasting the more frantic clanging drone. They have potential; all capable players. Maybe next time they will settle down and write more songs and not just clang up something to scare your ears with. I will give this one an 8, it drops October 18th on Neurot Records. 

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