Do you like feeling like you’ve taken a shit-tonne of the most strong acid on the planet, then thrown on a roller coaster (which is also on fire, just so you know) that speeds through Hell at a million miles an hour only pausing to grab some of your worst nightmares, all whilst somebody plays every single sound that can be made on a computer at a deafening volume, only to shout over it a lot, before you head into the most goth rave of all time.
You know, that feeling of ‘ohholyfuckigenuinelythingmyheadismeltingandthatiamgoingtodie’?
If you answered yes to that, firstly, we advise that you probably have a lay down and maybe read a book or something. You need to chill out a little.
Secondly, we’d tell you to give the new Death Spells album a listen, as it’s pretty much the sonic representation of all of the above.
If you came here expecting some good ol’ punk-rock from former-MCR guitar slinger Frank Iero, then walk away now, as it ain’t coming. Instead, we are faced with an album that is as bizarre as it is experimental. Although sometimes we must wonder as to whether some experiments are really necessary. In the case of tracks such as ‘Hell All American‘ and ‘Choke On One Another‘, with their industrial vibes blended with tough-as-nails electro, the aptly named trance inducing rhythms of ‘Hypnotic Spells‘ and the almost dubstep fuelled creepiness of ‘I Don’t Know Much, But I Know I Loathe You‘, the experimentation is utterly incredible. It’s hard to place just what it is we like about these moments, other than that they’re weird and strangely beautiful. A surreal and inventive direction which few rockers would dream of taking.
However, with this good comes the bad, the bad comes the good. ‘Where Are My Fucking Pills?‘ is the defining point of such moments. Please take a moment to listen to it, because frankly, it’s a once in a life time experience. It left us feeling nauseous and a little confused as to what we had just subjected ourselves to. A cacophony of unpleasant noise akin to the violent murder of a sentient Apple Mac. ‘Why Is Love So Disastrous?‘ also delves slightly too far into the avant-garde to be entirely palatable to the average rock fan, but then again, is this album really meant for the average rock fan?
It’s a brave move for this outfit to release something that is guaranteed to divide opinions to the most extreme, although it leaves us in a bit of a pickle, as we really can’t make up our minds on what our final verdict is either.
Could this be the sound of the technological uprising that looms over us all? Could it just be a deeply experimental record from some very open minded musical fellows?
You decide!
Overall Score: NO IDEA!