Killwhitneydead. "So Pretty So Plastic" CD
[Tribunal]
Alright, here's my big question: No offense to these guys, but why the fuck is everyone raving about this record?  Newsflash, it ain't that big a deal.  Yeah, the band's gotten a shitload better over the years, and this is a touch stronger than their last disc, but all the same... it's nothing new and it's nothing exciting.  What's different this time out?  More death metal and a better recording.  Other than that?  It's still frantic, dissonant, and grinding metalcore that's chock full of samples.  They do move around a lot with some blazing solos and a few rocked out chord progressions, but a lot of the material focuses on traditional American death metal influences, complete with plenty of pinch harmonics, while the vocals are raspy snarls that sound more metalcore-ish (though admittedly they are more unique than most).  All in all, some of it sounds like Eighteen Visions, some of it sounds like Cannibal Corpse, some of it sounds like neither.  "Murder Nouveau (It's All the Rage)" has some sludgy rock runs that are pretty damn cool, but all the speed surrounding them deadens the blow for me.  But I'll admit that sometimes the churning death metal riffs and midpaced chunkiness fucking kick ass (see the awesome "I'm Heavy Metal, But I Get the Blues Just Like Everyone Else"), but there aren't that many complete songs that win me over on this thing.  "Pretty With the Lights Off" is a brief instrumental with nothing but clean guitars that's actually a nice touch, leading into a scorcher with "One Match & A Gallon of Gasoline", which is way more energetic than most of the other material, so I wish more of the tunes were along those lines.  "Liars Like You Live the Shortest Lives (An Open Letter to Imposters)" comes close and is a strong outing, but it meanders a little more into redundant territory.  They revisit the sludgy rock complete with singing vocals in "Put Your Mouth Where the Money Is", which is promising, but the singing is too strained right now, so... with more work that could be a real kick.  They make pretty good use of the samples, or at least in choosing cool samples, but sometimes the placement seems a little choppy and messy and I still think it's a little overdone as far as disrupting the songs.  But they've stuck with it over the years so it's definitely a staple of their approach.  They recorded as a trio on this one (I don't know if lineup changes account for any of the shifts in sound or not), but the sound is definitely full.  The drums sound machinated to me (effectively so, but still), but overall the sound is better than last time.  The mix is pretty balanced and I think the tones are pretty good.  There's maybe a little too much of a bite to the guitar tone, and the vocals could use more brightness, but it works out for the most part.  The layout, like their last record (minus the blood and the boobs), revolves entirely around photographs of one female figure.  It looks alright, but the photography isn't as crisp as last time and overall it's not as striking or catching to the eye.  Despite having more amusing than average sarcastic song titles ("I Wouldn't Kick Her Out of Bed for Eating Crackers", for one), the lyrics are pretty standard tales of relationships hitting the shitter: "She stabbed me over and over with her sharpened lies..."  Ehhh, no thanks.  The forcedly over the top stuff dealing with violence against women and sexual matters isn't my thing either (though I can somewhat appreciate the band's sense of humor).  Also included is a "remix" CD under the name of KWDMF "So Plastic So Pretty" (complete with KMFDM-esque artwork and everything).  Expect more of the same, as I guess what they did was take the songs from the record and use entirely different samples in them for this go round, complete with alternate song titles like "If You Don't Like This Song You're Stupid" and "Wow, She Actually Has a Heart Under Those Boobs".  Throw a handful of these songs on an EP and it would be pretty god damn good, so maybe their next record will finally cave me in, but for now... they're still a decent band whom I simply can't justify receiving so much gushing praise.  They're getting better, though.  Definitely. (6/10)
Running time - 30:17, Tracks: 12
[Notable tracks: I'm Heavy Metal, But I Get the Blues Just Like Everyone Else, One Match & A Gallon of Gasoline, Liars Like You Live the Shortest Lives (An Open Letter to Imposters)]
Tribunal Records - http://www.tribunalrecords.net

This review has been displayed 3002 times.