"Life is Cheap" is the debut full-length from spastic UK outfit Army of Flying Robots on SuperFi Records, after a rather prolific run of splits and such that were collected on an early discography CD that I covered here last year. And to their credit, Army of Flying Robots is still not an easy band to categorize, as they simply cover so much ground. Their tracks range from one-minute bursts of explosive, grinding chaos to 4+ minute excursions through slower, more melodic territory that also touches on some darker, more dissonant riffing that has a more sinister, menacing undercurrent happening. As I mentioned in my last write-up on the band, I still hear some of that "chuggingly frenetic" Catharsis style (and this time around I'd probably toss a little Gehenna in the mix as well), along with a good dose of that "wild 'n' crazy" Acme riffing, and I can't not mention "screamo" with regard to the sheer intensity of the vocals, but also in relation to some of the caustic yet eerily melodic guitar textures that creep into tracks like "Embodiment" or "Fimbulvetr". The material is often heavy and chugging, but without coming across as something I'd comfortably classify as particularly "metal". But you certainly can't deny the presence of an obvious hardcore influence in many of the chord progressions and structural backbones, even if that influence is delivered in a rather mangled and nonstandard fashion thanks to the complete ferocity of the textures and noisiness of the delivery. It's curious shit, though, with—as usual—killer artwork, cool lyrics, and succinct song explanations that get to the point and put things across in a manner that I can really appreciate (even the socio-political messages are dealt in a sincere and personal fashion that really works). 11 tracks in 28 minutes, and there you have it. Normally my ears can be kind of picky about this particular style, but there's something about this band... they must really know exactly what the hell they're doing, because everything seems to fall right into place. Well done.
Army of Flying Robots "Tamerlane's Example"
Army of Flying Robots "Fimbulvetr"
Comments
I love these guys. I have the discography CD but haven’t had a chance to pick this one up yet.
2.19.2008 | By Carlzilla
Wow! I was not expecting this at all, even after your description. There’s some straight-up black metal tremolo picking and blastbeats here - but then they alternate with the hardcore vibe. Very strange, but I liked it.
2.19.2008 | By Invisible Oranges
I knew a couple of these guys through a good friend of mine, it is great to hear they are still going strong. Last time I saw these guys play was probably around 7 years ago (!) at the 1 in 12 club in Bradford, UK. Was a very intense and noisy set as you can imagine! Not really my thing but I can’t deny the effort they put into their work.
2.19.2008 | By Adam G
Ooooh yeah, this is intense haha.
2.19.2008 | By Fergus
I dig the breakdown at the end of Tamerlan’e Example, but the vocals bug me.
2.19.2008 | By manisthebastard
Cool band! They don’t sound super typical or predictable which is rare these days. Some fairly diverse influences going on and the vox are throat-ripping. The recording’s a little weak and lo-fi but not too bad…sounds unmastered.
2.20.2008 | By justin
incredible record - a shame these guys are on hiatus! Only got to see them twice but on both times they were amazingly intense. I think the pacing of this album works especially well, with the more moody, expansive tracks occupying the middle of it to add variety to the worlwind of the first 5 songs.
2.20.2008 | By Mikey