THE MECHANICAL HAND
COMBAT/KOCH
The classic '80s indie label Combat is back in action. The label has been stagnant for I assume nearly two decades now. For those who may not be familiar with the original Combat Records (then distributed through Important - now Relativity), this label was largely responsible for breaking pioneering thrash metal bands like Megadeth, Exodus, Dark Angel, Abattoir, as well as Slayer's Hell Awaits album (originally marketed by Combat via Metal Blade). The label has since hooked-up with German heavyweight Koch Records and together they've released a handful of new titles, the best of which comes from Horse The Band. This band intertwines many elements of metal music from industrial grind-core and punk-metal to agro alt-metal swirling in alluring elements of '70s prog-metal (!) Uniquely diverse, indeed, but very hard to endure the first listen. The Mechanical Hand is the band's follow-up to their 2003 debut R. Borlex. Described by some as "Nintendocore" Horse The Band are truly intriguing. The opening track "Birdo" is a prime example showing how the band blends hard-core metal with sonic rhythms flourished by '70s style keyboard/synths. As strange as this may sound, the music shows hints of 70s arena-rock pioneers Journey and Asia atop thunderous modern metal sounds one may describe as Fear Factory meets Faith No More meets Devo, add a touch of VoiVod for good measure and you've got Horse The Band! Some of the tracks that follow, particularly "A Million Exploding Suns" and "The House Of Bod" lean more toward the raw punk-metal spectrums while songs like "Softer Sounds," "Lord Gold Throneroom," and "The Black Hole" generate back to the Nintendo sound of old Devo meets Faith No More, yet once again utilizing those ever-so-fascinating keyboard embellishments spattered around in all the right places that makes this band truly stand out from the rest of the nu-metal pack. My favorite track, interestingly enough, is the minute-and-a-half guitar instrumental "Soaring Quails," reminding me a bit of old Be-Bop-Deluxe with a modern metal flare. The song leads into "Taken By Vultures," another standout track highlighted by a killer guitar riff. But like most the crop of today's alternative-metal bands, the music tends to grate your nerves after a while and the vocals become increasingly annoying (a more melodic vocal approach rather than the semi-screamo nu-metal ranting I feel would have been a helluva lot more affective to say the least.) Lots of originality, industrial grind-core flavoring and prog-metal elements makes Horse The Band far more intriguing and much more dynamic than your average agro metal-core band and far less sterile than the current crop of prog-metal bands.
BURST
ORIGO
RELAPSE
Burst is Sweden's newest metal-core hopefuls. Having just released their sophomore effort, Origo, on Relapse this band is out to conquer America. Like so many of the Swedish hard-core bands out there, Burst consists of finely tuned musicians but once again defeat the purpose by employing a vocalist who insist on moronically screaming at the top of his lungs every chance he gets. The band's sound typifies the Scandinavian death/metal-core genre emulating the likes of Hypocrisy, In Flames with hints of Children Of Bodom. Certain astral-industrial overtones (similar to the likes of VoiVod) are highlighted throughout this release giving this band a much broader musical spectrum than the throng of hard-core metal mongers. Given a decent vocalist this band can very well be a powerful entity in the metal world. Notable tracks include "Sever," and the semi-subtle tracks "Homebound" and "It Comes Into View."
Shockwaves CD REVIEWS ISSUE 13 Page 9