Ehhh... I didn't like their last EP, and I can't say I like this one either. Trying to ignore the fact that the recording is really too raw to do them justice regardless, the songwriting just isn't doing much for me. Sure, it's kind of hard to appreciate a band's songwriting when the instruments aren't properly in tune with one another, only adding to their already dissonant and caustic attack, but... I'm just not into this. These songs are slightly darker and heavier than the last EP, opening with a few classic metal riffs in "Dregs", but they've still got those wacky vocals that use constant vibrato and swing from lower midrange notes to higher notes - still reminding me of a less talented and deeper voiced Jello Biafra. There are a lot of strong riffs this time out, which is cool, but the constant clashing of slightly out of tune notes really weakens things. "Detroit Assembly Line Zombies" is a promising piece with some nice discordantly melodic chord progressions and a driving rhythm, helping me get over how irritating the vocals are, but none of the other tracks do much for me. Speaking more specifically about the recording, aside from the tuning problem (which is a big one), the mix is a little unbalanced, and the tones just sound a little flat and lifeless. The rhythm section has a distant ring to it, the guitars seem to be louder in the right channel than in the left, and the tones are just really raw, almost like a decently recorded live set or something. The CD-R comes in a well intentioned but still slightly rough handmade sleeve with two-color screenprinting on the disc and what I assume is a laser printed sleeve. There are some band photos and artwork inside, but no lyrics or anything. I just can't get into this band. Really, for me to enjoy this band they'd have to up their recording quality fairly significantly, tune up big time, and get their frontman to calm it down a bit and sing in a more straightforward manner that would better suit the music. I can't say it's absolutely horrible, as in a weird way there are a lot of cool elements, but its weak points add up and sort of cave in on the EP as a whole.
[Engine]
Running time - 22:44, Tracks: 5
[Notable tracks: Detroit Assembly Line Zombies]
Engine Studios - http://www.engine-studios.com
