Review Summary: So this is an entire album of Tim Lambesis basically cracking Governator one-liners? Oh wait, what was that? The music is actually not too shabby either? Yes please!
GET TO DA CHOPPA!!!
Born out of As I Lay Dying frontman Tim Lambesis' seemingly unhealthy obsession with a certain former Mr. Universe, Austrian Death Machine is a metal homage to all things Ahnold, and I really mean
all things Ahnold. While the album, as well as the band itself, appears to be nothing more than one giant gimmick at first, second, and fifty third glance, underneath the ridiculous cover art, the obscene amount of one-liners from the Governator's movies, the overly ridiculous song titles, and so on so forth, the musical aspects are surprisingly solid, and all of the odd ball humor and heaps of movie references somehow make the album a lot more enjoyable than it would seem to be on paper.
The music presented by Mr. Lambesis is really nothing more than cliched riff oriented thrash metal; consisting of riff upon riff upon riff, solos in every single song, the predictable sections of "huge" sustained chords underneath slow palm muted leads, the oh so familiar build ups and shouts of "YEAH," "COME ON," and, of course, "OH!" to signify the onslaught of a breakdown...just good, old fashioned, in your face, thrash metal. What is really impressive is the simple fact that everything you hear coming out of the speakers (with the exception of the "Ahhhnold" impressions which are provided by fellow metaller Chad Ackerman of Destroy The Runner), was done by Tim himself. Every riff, solo, drumbeat, scream, shout, and roar, is performed almost exclusively by the AILD frontman, and to be perfectly honest, it's not half bad. The soloing is surprisingly competent, the riffing, albeit obligatory thrash riffing, is fast, heavy, and fairly technical (just the way it should be), the bass is, for the most part, nowhere to be found (but it's thrash metal so it's arguably just the way it should be), and the vocals are just what you would expect if you're familiar with Tim's work with As I Lay Dying. Heck, even the Schwarzenegger impressions are pretty decent. Of course, with an album like this, longevity is an issue worth mentioning. Will I be listening to this next week? Probably so. Will I be listening to this after a few months? Maybe, maybe not. After a few weeks of personal enjoyment, the album will obviously wear pretty thin, and outside of popping it in your car stereo every once in a while so you and your buddies can mindlessly shout glorious one liners such as
COME WITH ME IF YOU WANT TO LIVE,
WHO IS YOUR DADDY AND WHAT DOES HE DO, and of course,
GET TO DA CHOPPA, the album will probably be forgotten fairly quickly.
In short, the album lacks variety and substance, and is terribly cliched and predictable. However, for some unexplainable reason, as horribly cliche and ridiculous at is, it just works. There is something to be said for predictability and familiarity in cases such as this. Groundbreaking and experimental musical endeavors are obviously an integral part of musical progression, and without them music itself would just become stagnant and boring, but every now and then, most people just need to thrash around and act like complete idiots. Let me put it this way...Growing up in the southern part of the United States, fried chicken, cornbread, and mashed potatoes were a big part of my childhood, and even though I've grown up, matured, traveled to a few different countries, and greatly enjoyed food from many other places and cultures, it's still nice to indulge in something familiar every now and again.
Recommended Tracks:
-Honestly, pick the ones with your favorite movie references and you're good to go.
-The little skits are pretty funny too.
-Heck just listen to the whole thing if you can.
