Written in Blood: June 1997

Fear Factory
Remanufacture
Roadrunner

The band Fear Factory have fully embraced technology on their latest album, Remanufacture. Their music has taken leaps forward into the digital world, leaving analog far behind. Early recordings by Fear Factory hinted to their fondness for a hi-tech approach. Hyper-tight, computer-aided riffings, sampling, etc. Remanufacture finds the band taking previously released material, breaking it down to the core, then building it up again into not just a remix, but something very different. Fear Factory’s first run-in with remixing took place in 1993 with Fear Is The Mindkiller. The biggest difference between the two projects, being back in ‘93 F.F. gave total control to Front Line Assembly’s Rhys Fulber and Bill Leeb. This time around F.F. used mixing gurus (Rhys Fulber, D.J. Dano, Kingside, and Junkie XL) that possessed an even wider range of abilities and styles. The band also had more of an effect on the final product by contributing ideas that went into the mixing process.

Withstand
…And Anger Was A Warm Place To Hide
Fierce/Mayhem

Withstand was formed in 1991 when Kevin Maloney and Bill Scovill (in high school at the time) met at a Slayer concert (I’ll just imagine what happened next). After failed attempts at selling their souls during the performance of “Angel Of Death” by Slayer, the boys decided to form a band and be known as Withstand. Everything from this point on really went down the shitter. I tell you half their bio reads like a real hard-luck story, yadda, yadda, yadda. Anyway, Withstand finally got their big break when they got signed to Mayhem/Fierce and recorded…And Anger Was A Warm Place To Hide. The vocals kind of remind me of Rollins. The music, while not being particularly complicated or technical, has definite substance. End of story.

Radish
Restraining Bolt
Mercury

All of the guys from Death Angel are probably in their 30’s these days. The band members from Old Skill are probably the thugs I had to flee from earlier this week. And … someone else is making money off of Silverchair. Mercury has finally found their “child prodigy” to fill out their roster of talent. Radish is Ben Kweller (15), John Kent (17), and Bryan Blur (29). Fifteen, damn, this kid’s got what I wanted growing up. According to articles I’ve read, major labels courted Kweller, who finally signed with Mercury for a six-figure sum of money. The little bastard. I will not be unbiased on this one. It’s not metal, so my narrow-minded musical opinions don’t really matter much anyway. The music is light-hearted and pretty simple technically speaking, but no worse than anything that is played on the radio. I’ll bet if Radish and Silverchair did a tour of the middle schools they would really clean up. Just a thought.

Napalm Death
Inside The Torn Apart
Earache

I finally removed Inside The Torn Apart by Napalm Death from my car’s CD player. The player is acting up and will keep CDs for weeks at a time. I guess that answered the age-old question that has plagued mankind throughout the ages, “If you’re stuck in I-15 traffic and only have one CD to listen to…”. At least it was a good one. The album opens with a huge number, “Breed To Breathe”. Napalm has created and captured on this disc a sound that really brings across the band’s aggressive style without being “muddy”. The guitar parts stand out well and also mix well with the rest of the band. The final result is Napalm’s signature sound.

Cinderella
Once Upon A…
Mercury

If I’m ever found in my car, dead with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, this tape would be found in the cassette deck.

Bile
Biledegradable
Energy

After the release of Suckpump and Teknowhore, the band Bile is releasing Biledegradable. Did I say the band Bile? There are five people pictured and given various duties in the band, but the credits go like this – All instruments performed by Krysztoff, except some keys in “Rubber Love” by Jaymz Alexander. Way to ruin the “band effort” illusion I had going here. This album finds Bile delving further into experimental mixings of various styles which include metal, techno, and more. Krysztoff even finds it necessary to add not one, but two remakes of the song “My Generation”. ‘Who’ did that song originally? The Stones?

-Forgach

Machine Head
Vision of Disorder
Coal Chamber (June 25th DV8)

For anyone who fell victim to last month’s “accurate” SLUG calendar regarding the Coal Chamber show, we have a correction. The show is actually June 25th at DV8, and it’s Machine Head with Vision Of Disorder and Coal Chamber. These bands are three of the hottest prospects that Roadrunner Records has to offer. Machine Head is supporting their long-awaited album. The More Things Change… The buzz about V.O.D. is that for a fairly recent show in NYC, they drew a larger crowd than Fugazi. Concerning the band Coal Chamber, I can’t believe Salt Lake hasn’t scooped up their song, “Loco.” Trust me on this one.

Read more Written in Blood by John Forgach:
Written in Blood: January 1997
Written in Blood: February 1997

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