Mortiis - The Grudge

Whilst this is entirely on the other end of the industrial metal spectrum that I prefer not to get too close to, The Grudge was one of favourite records as a teenager. Over the last few years I have learned that there is a lot more to industrial than crappy guitars layered with crappy dance music and ripping off old Nine Inch Nails tracks, but that's another story. Mortiis' first Era 3 release was a puzzling mix of awkward techno and fuzzy metal, not a hundred million miles away from The Smell Of Rain, but so far removed from any of his Era 1 music you'd swear it was a totally different musical genius at the helm. Nope. Mortiis is one of those artists that has evolved in sheer leaps over the last 20 years.

I like The Grudge, don't get me wrong, but compared to The Smell Of Rain before it, it pales in comparison. The Smell Of Rain had such a distinct and wonderful sound, but The Grudge, whilst it has it's moments of sheer brilliance, is for the most part clumsy, badly mixed and lacking direction. It is equal parts amazing and awful. The over-all vibe is much more angsty and rougher around the edges (it's almost like this album should have been made first, and The Smell Of Rain should be it's more focused and chilled-out follow up) but some of my favourite Mortiis songs are on here. Opener "Broken Skin" sounds like it's been mixed by a 4 year old, but that doesn't stop it being one of the greatest Mortiis songs, writing wise. "The Grudge" is the song that got me hooked into this album with it's constant rotation on Scuzz TV; a clanking dancey nightmare that unfolds into some serious industrial metal heaviness.

 

The longest track here, "The Worst In Me" is a brooding nightmare of riffs and synths, and the first few minutes of "The Loneliest Thing" is by far the best shit on this record; it starts with a cool, semi-acoustic opening with resonant chords fighting over fluttering hi-hats, leading into some heavy drumming and haunting vocal performances. Sheer, sheer brilliance. Closing track "Asthma", is a quick nod back to the days of old, fading the record out with a couple of minutes of nothing more than meandering, hollow ambience. Bliss.

I originally bought this on CD with my first ever paycheck back in 2005 (who can forget what they bought with their first paycheck?). I got the "Mortiis pack" off Earache Records, which was the entire Mortiis-on-Earache discography and a crappy Earache t-shirt, but they made a mistake and sent me two copies of The Grudge (one being the special edition) instead of a copy of The Stargate, and I had to send it back for a swap. In hindsight, I probably should have said it was missing, flogged it, and got a free copy of The Stargate. Oh well. Recently the label have been selling these old vinyl copies of The Grudge off for £7 including postage, so I couldn't resist picking one up. I was hoping for the bright purple but I got the clear.

Check out "The Loneliest Thing" below; the first few minutes are just beautiful.

Stebmo - Stebmo

I had the shock of my life when I saw a tweed jacket wearing Steve Moore perform as Stebmo in 2009, supporting Earth in The Croft, Bristol. What the hell was I watching? To be fair, who knew? And whilst that jazzy-jam of distorted electric piano and drums doesn't sound anything like the Stebmo record, it was entirely responsible for my purchase of it. It took me a while to get around the idea of whether I liked Stebmo or not, but in the end I threw caution to the wind and bought the album. Way to push the boat out!

Like the live show, the Stebmo record is primarily piano and organ driven, although there is a veritable smorgasbord of other instruments and performers chipping in over the whole record. One minute it's elevator music, the next an up-beat jaunt that would be the perfect soundtrack for walking through a big city, and then onto slower, more rousing and thought provoking pieces. This record has it all! I don't really know how to class this album, and I guess if it doesn't class easily then I shouldn't try to, although Discogs has it listed as Avant-garde jazz. Hmm. Out on Invada Records (the Bristol-based one) and as far as I can tell, all the copies are clear vinyl. Also, since this cunt stole my fucking Cattle Decapitation 7" in a bogus trade, the Stebmo record is now by far the clearest clear record I own. That shit is like fucking glass. Check it out below the video link!

 

This (incorrectly titled) video mashes up two tracks off the record; the upbeat and cheesy "Blind Ross" comes first, followed by the much more somber and brooding "Dark Circles". I picked this vid because it shows two different sides to this fantastic record in one link. 

Pig Destroyer / Isis - Split 7"

This is one my favourite splits ever! Limited to 2000 copies thanks to Relapse Records. There is the usual Relapse 100 clear, 100 on orange, a bizarre 50 on white, and the remaining 1750 on black. I was lucky to get a black copy at a fairly decent price, but be wary that the white and orange pressings can fetch hefty price tags on record collector websites.

 

Classic Pig Destroyer are on top form, covering the goregrind legend that is (or was) Carcass. There is simply not a better version of "Genital Grinder / Regurgitation of Giblets" in existence. "Exhume to Consume" leaves a bit to be desired vocal-wise, but for the most part is an ultra-tight, lightening-fast zip through a classic track from the genre.

 

Isis on the other hand, opt for something a lot more slow and dirgy. With Agoraphobic Nosebleed's Jay Randall in tow they sucessfully create their own very unique version of the legendary Godflesh song "Streetcleaner". Not as sprawling in production as the original, but is almost suffocating with claustrophobia.