As I am sure many of you are aware, Earache Records went through a puzzling phase in the 90s, signing all sorts of rave, dance, gabba and electronic music to the label. One such short-lived act was Adrenalin Junkies. There isn't much to say about this bog-standard dance record, other than I got it for next to nothing one day when I was buying a whole bunch of shit from Earache. I'm not even sure if this is collectable to fans of the genre this is associated with, but if anyone wants it just give me a shout as I am willing to sell / trade this as it is of no value to me whatsoever.
I wasn't entirely fussed on Mortiis' much more metal approach in 2004 but there are some cracking tunes on The Grudge, including the title track, packaged here wittled down to a club-size bite. I can't blame Earache for wanting in on the electro-goth club scene audience that Mortiis so obviously appeals to, but the single edit is, in all honesty, fucking pointless. It takes a great song and makes it less great simply but cutting parts out of it. The Grudge as a song doesn't quite fall awkwardly into horrible chugging like some tracks off the album but simply showcases a rougher (and ALOT angrier) side to Mortiis whilst retaining the excellent synth and bass sound of earlier efforts.
On side B (or should I say AA) is "Decadent and Desperate", the big Mortiis single (in my opinion). Not quite sure why this is here if it was later repressed as a single (twice) in it's own right? Confusing move, Earache, I gotta be honest. "Decadent.." is muddy, riddled with angst only seen the ultra-bad part of nu-metal and is terribly mixed. It is far cry from anything off Smell of Rain. Mortiis is an excellent musician, not to mention performer, but this song is just hands down balls. Ironically, it was his best known song in the circles I hung around in at high school. People dug this song but shunned early Mortiis and even the album this was off! Moron fucking goths! Ha ha!
I initially thought this just a completists item, and being a total crazy fan I simply had to get a copy on my quest to own all Godflesh stuff. The "Radioslave" version carries the original off on a whole new tangent, keeping the opening 90s dance vibe as its leading beat rather than heading into the heavyness the original does. The sample of the lyric "Jesus!" blares continually. "Total State" batters "Slavestate" into an unrecognisable mess, and if the world has fallen apart, or the song had demonically re-arranged itself within the machine. Almost as if the computer has taken over the song. Nasty. "Perfect Skin Dub" on the other hand, is rather relaxing for a smoldering fuck of a drawn out remix. All hope that remained in the original has been squashed and crushed to fucking nothing.
This original Earache package didn't last very long, but suprisingly it isn't very expensive. I guess people have to want something for it to be collectable. Horrible Godflesh self-remixes obviously weren't the order of the day in 1991. But if horrible re-workings of usually clinically precise songs are your bag, get some of this.
Where Scum put grindcore on the map for most people, From Enslavement to Obliteration took the whole genre to new depths of mental speed and heavyness. I read once, I think in Terrorizer magazine, FETO being described as the bastard of a younger brother to Scum. Scum may have started it all, but FETO perfected the blueprint. To be honest, it just rips your fucking head off.
I got this picture disc as a gift one Christmas a few years back and I was very, very surprised to see it. I had never heard of a picture disc version before, let alone in full colour, and I feared that a family member had spent a lot of money on a bootleg. Nevertheless, some quick research revealed that this pressing is indeed genuine (and rather rare); Earache pressed a bunch of these up in 1990, just after the initial gatefold run. I find the full colour artwork rather bizarre, even to this day, being so used to seeing the original purple'n'white. Dig from Earache also uploaded the original full colour version of Scum to his blog Ask Earache, even though it was never used in any (legitimate) pressing of Scum. You'd be very surprised at how different it looks.
Unfortunately my copy is a bit crackly, and opener "Evolved as One" skips a bit. Picture discs aren't exactly known for their excellent sound quality but other than the signs of wear it sounds really, really good. Better than the fucking CD, anyway! It is definitely a collectors item though, I think most fans would be better off settling for the dynamic represses of new or the original FETO pressing on black wax with the bonus 7" (which I am still looking to obtain). If Earache had ever pressed Scum with the same full colour picture together with this it would make for some fantastic wall art.
I always used to think that FETO's one flaw was that it couldn't stand up to the music of today for sheer impact, but as I've matured and realised that loudness isn't everything (also having the bastard on vinyl helped - so much better!), FETO has come full circle for me as something to listen to and enjoy often. After all, it is a blistering whirlwind of a record. It is also mental to think that this line up of Napalm Death lasted for so little time - who knows if they would have gone on to make more powerful things than FETO? It is sad to see how back in the day Napalm Death chewed up and spat out it's members, but some of the bands created in it's wake are equally or more so breathtaking (Godflesh, Cathedral, Scorn and Carcass to name a few).
Before there was Skindred there was Dub War. I was always attracted to this band because of their awesome name. A war of dub? Sounds like my kind of party. Unfortunately I found Dub War a bit wet, not too shabby but very disappointing considering what I built them up to be in my head. My love for them sadly does not extend any further than this cheeky little single pressed by Earache (when they went off the fuckin' dial with signing weird shit) in 1994 on CD, 7" and 12". This here is the 7". The CD and 12" both contain more remixes and a separate b-side track, whilst this 7" only contains the title track and one boring remix that doesn't actually sound that much different.
Anyhow, die hard fans of Skindred should enjoy Dub War, and I'm sure they probably do. The song "Mental" is just that, Benji shouting a chorus of (i think) "absolutely mental!" over and over in a Welsh accent is very very amusing. That's about it. The rap is pretty awesome too. You can currently get one of these for £1 on Discogs, so if you like odd shit, get in.
