Wheelfall - The Atrocity Reports

Apathia records


"The Atrocity Reports" is the third album from French band, Wheelfall. The band's music on their PR sheet is described as Industrial Post-Metal. What is industrial Post Metal? How does it differ from Industrial Metal? Why so many questions? Who cares?

The band sound a little like 90's Ministry on the album opener, "The Way to Every Crime is Ours". It's heavy, metallic and very much rhythm driven with a driven tempo. The nihilism is strong throughout the album and the second song "Nothing But Worms" reeks of despair as the title. The tempo is much slower and the vocals go from between death metal and hardcore at the start of the song to near spoken which sets a bleak haunting tone. "Violence is Seduction" is an angry industrial metal three minute and a half minute burst that will have shouting, "It's a guilt fucker".




"Impentinent" has a similar drum sound to Big Black's "Kerosene" which sets the song on fire. It sounds like Big Black, Ministry and Nailbomb combined and contained to single place, in that it is industrial and very pissed off with society. "There is No You" is lighter than most the previous tracks and is reminiscent of Nine Inch Nails although Wheelfall do sound much angrier and a little less interested in catchy sing-a-long hooks.



Wheelfall really know how to turn on the angrybutton and are much accessible than most modern hardcore punk bands while providing abrasive industrial metal. If you enjoy Ministry, Nailbomb, Big Black, "Demanufacture" era Fear Factory or Nine Inch Nails then Wheelfall's "The Atrocity Reports" album should be right up your alley.


3.5/5

Release Date: 6 October 2017


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Zaraza - Spasms of Rebirth

Dear Reader

I trust this day finds you well. I have a treasure for you but first you, dear reader, need to answer four questions before you will be eligible to receive this gift.

Do you like doom metal? Do you like wallowing in the pits of sludge? Does the mention of industrial music cause your mouth to froth? Would a combination of the three be of interest to you? If you answered no to any of these questions then stop reading this review right NOW and go and read the emails in your spam folder.

If you answered, yes to all four questions then Canadian and Ecuadorian duo, Zaraza's latest album "Spasm of Rebirth" will be of interest. The duo play a hybrid of sludge, doom and industrial. If band references are important to you then. dear reader, you should think of Godflesh colliding in the underworld with Eyehategod with samples the conjure up a sense of dread.



Now, dear reader, if you're still reading this and we're both still alive as I doubt either of us have much time left in this world then I implore you to get a copy of Zaraza's "Spasms of Rebirth" rather than give me your bank details.



Your sincerely



A near dead blogger



PS Check out this youtube video for their track "Church of Gravity.





PPS: Check out a number of tracks from the album on Zaraza's bandcamp page. "Maskwearer" is a highly recommended track. Oh, yeah. By the way, the physical format of this album will be available from 17 July 2017 until whenever it's not.


3.5/5

HLAH - SFBH, Wellington March 19, 2010

Another ridiculous local show with too many bands. Three support bands is too much when people are really only paying to see the headliner.

I caught the last song of Beastwars because I'd paid about an hour after the doors opened so took off and watched the rugby league game to the end. The song I heard sounded like it was lifted from the heavier spectrum of the 90's Seattle sound.

A band started playing in the corner opposite the stage. They were called Rackets and soundwise fell somewhere between Green Day, Fugazi and The Buzzcocks. The three piece swapped instruments a few time and threw a lot of T-shirts into the crowd.

Due to Rackets not playing on the stage, Gaywyre were able to start soon after the previous band had finished playing. The band played an energertic set of old school 80's metal with a NWOBM feel but really from what I saw of Beastwars and the audience reaction they would have been the better to have before the headliners.

Head Like a Hole came on at midnight and went down a treat. The last time I remember seeing them was, soon after I left home in the early nineties, during their playing naked period. Their early industrial was represented through tracks like "Nevermind Today", "Fish Across Face", "Spanish Goat Dancer" and newer hard rock material with tracks like "Corndog", "Wet Rubber" and "Comfortably Shagged". Booga dedicated their version of Bruce Springsteen's "I'm on Fire" to the ladies. I turned round and looked at the barstaff and saw them all singing along. One song featured a young horn section who came on and played well for one song then left. The encore included "Hootnanny". Nakendness was not delivered and the band are reputed to have given up narcotics however the noise was still there.

Personal live favourite, "Nevermind Today" was the first song HLAH ever wrote. Here's the video.

Pseudopodia

All small towns have a mystery band. The band you never seemed to catch yet their name is on every second show or they recorded and split up after recording leaving no evidence of members names on their recorded product. On this four Palmerston North band compilation from 1992, Sausage Roll are such a band. Musically they take their cue from Velvet Underground, Violent Femmes, Camper Van Beethoven and other things brought to us by the letter V.

The first band Rake were heavily influenced by Big Black. I remember seeing them many moons ago on a cool mismatched bill with Eye TV when they were The Nixons. Rake and industrial band, Froithead shared a drummer at the time of this comp. A friend of mine reviewed this release for the Manawatu Standard and upset the drummer by describing Froithead as industrial. Unfortunately the paper wouldn't allow the word "shit" in their review section. Chances are if you like Crass and lisping female singers shouting over noise and loops you may actually like them. Ethiopian Lard Farmers are punk and in places, Paul Morris aka Boris sounds a little like Keith Morris of The Circle Jerks. Each band gets roughly a sixteen minute quarter before taking a break.



Get it.