Review Summary: Is this all the world has to offer?
Isolation can be the cause of many things. It can lead to the questioning of oneself, to the stripping of both mental and physical self. The actual experience itself can result in a catharsis of sorts, a cleansing of one’s thoughts and ideals. It can also bring about great creativity. Sheltered away with no escape from the task at hand, what are you left with but to plunge into the task before you and see it through to its end? This is exactly what happened with 36 Crazyfists.
Hailing from Anchorage, Alaska; 36 Crazyfists know a thing or two about working in isolation and solitude. Formed in ’94 the band at that time consisted of:
Brock Lindow – Vocals
Steve Holt – Guitars
Ryan Brownell – Guitars
JD Stuart – Bass
Thomas Noonan – Drums
All local boys, the band sought to bring their interpretation of nu metal to the world. Unfortunately tragedy would strike early on with JD dying in a car accident, and Ryan deciding to hang up his guitar straps not too long after. Determined to press on the band recruited the bass talents of Mick Whitney and resolved to break themselves out of the small confines of their homes in search of world stages. A move to Seattle and a first album, in the form of In the Skin, did little to improve their chances however, as the album did little more than go under the radar. Undeterred, and for all accounts and purposes even more determined than ever, the band eagerly began work on what would eventually become a 4 track demo, that after a small tour with fellow metallers Skinlab would end up in that band’s hands, only to be quickly passed onto Roadrunner Records. Needless to say phone calls were made, hands were shaken, deals were discussed and contracts were signed. It seemed as if 36CF were looking up in the world, now why couldn’t they be happy about it?
Lyrically this contains some of the darkest subjects that Brock has cared to comment on. His thoughts on acceptance into a world that he feels neither ready for, nor understands, feelings on trust and acceptance, the degradation of one’s identity, belittlement and abuse as the cause of suicide in the hopes of reaching something superior to the person’s current existence, and dreams of beauty permeate through this album. To perfectly match his chosen topics Brock delivers an exceptional vocal performance, and one that clearly separates him from his contemporaries. His newly acquired knack for screaming (something only touched on in previous efforts), while not refined unlike later efforts, only serves to add to the beautiful chaos he attempts to describe. The band themselves do more than an admirable job in accentuating Brock’s vocal delivery. Anchoring the sound is Thomas, an admirable drummer who serves not to overpower the other members with dominating technical displays, but rather spends his time throwing in subtle little fills and reacting off the groove influenced riffs thrown at him by Steve. An accomplished guitarist in his own right, any evidence that Steve might be in his over his head with the lack of a second guitarist are immediately obliterated as the opening of the album spills out over your speakers. Rounding out the rhythm section is Mick who while not doing anything remarkable (more often than not he simply follows the guitars) he remains audible during the entire album and his almost pulsing bass comes across as downright menacing in certain areas.
The album kicks off into high gear with Turns To Ashes, a bleak look at a young boy walking into a world that feels alien to him, and coming to the realization that with life and love comes hurt and suffering. The lyrics and music pack no punches as the song peaks at an epic chorus that I’m sure Chester Bennington would kill to have come up with himself. Always making sure that no song outstays its welcome, the song ends almost as quickly as it started. The next few songs continue themselves in a similar fashion, never remaining for longer than they need too, and retaining a nice contrast of intelligence verses brutality in their music. This effect is achieved through a few different ways; Brock’s reluctance to scream every single word out (he seems more inclined to leave that for when they’re needed to truly convey a given emotion), and Steve’s interest in throwing in melodic guitar lines whenever possible, thus given the otherwise boring and cliché breakdown segments a healthy dose of something more refreshing.
After the first 4 tracks well and truly settle us into the album we’re hit with the 1st (and only) single off of the album, Slit Wrist Theory. Upon a quick listen you could be forgiven for thinking that Brock had succumbed to the typical nu metal cliché of adding in profanity just for the sake of it, that however is not the case. The song tells the tale of a person beaten down and stripped off any pride by physical abuse, but still aware of the fact to not show any form of weakness in front of his antagonists. However, trapped in his own mind he comes to the conclusion that he somehow deserves to be in this situation and realizes that to obtain any sense of normality in his world there is only out. The band pulls out all the stops on this one track, especially Brock whose passion and emotion literally radiate off him as he unravels the story. No time to rest however as Slit Wrist gives way into Bury Me Where I Fall, possibly the heaviest track on the record and a huge turn into the 2nd half of the album. Featuring a guest turn by Steev from Skinlab, the track culminates in a screaming trade off from the two singers as they remark on staring up at the heavens and questioning everything that has gone wrong.
The second half of this album unfortunately reveals a few filler moments. While most of the tracks continue in a similar vein as all that preceded it, tracks such as Dislocate, All I Am and Chalk White reveal themselves as nothing more than a mean’s to stretch the album length. While the latter of my examples gives off somewhat of a Adrenaline era Deftones vibe to it, there’s simply not enough to sustain every song the whole way through and can leave you wondering why certain elements from these songs weren’t somehow worked into other songs if the band cared for them so much. But never one to stay down for too long, the band redeems itself with the double combo of Ceramic and Circle the Drain. While being the two most up tempo songs on the album, they also contain some of the most sincere offerings from Brock yet. Not one to shy away from revealing vulnerabilities in himself he tells the listener that in times of pain it’s never wrong to wallow in self pity as long as you know when it’s time to pick yourself up and move on. The band once again goes all out in an attempt to match Brock’s intensity, especially Thomas who gives probably his best performance on these two tracks.
As would become the norm on later albums, 36CF decide to end this album on an acoustic note with Left Hand Charity. The tempo of the last 2 songs are completely washed away as Brock sings in despair about a young love who has tragically died, and how repeated visits to her grave seek only to enrage and distress him further. While this could be considered a tad pretentious it comes across as quite the opposite as Brock pours all the conviction he needs into his performance and the majority of the band takes a back seat to the tale, bar Steve with his acoustic and some sparse minimalistic electronics in the background. Any hopes of a happy ending are removed as Brock ends on the note that he can’t bring himself to look you in the eyes, an obvious example of self blame. And then it slowly fades away…..
While the band would delve into more metalcore territory with their subsequent releases (the cause of polarization in a lot of their fans), this album seeks to remain in more nu metal territory, with occasional glances towards post hardcore. The band themselves have referred to this album as their “early masterpiece”. While I disagree with this statement it was an album that when I first heard it, it resonated with me instantly. I had yet to come across a singer/lyricist who was willing to lay himself bare on paper as much as Brock did. And to come across so much emotion pumped into the music of a band coming from a genre that relied on catchiness more than anything was a breath of fresh air to me at the time. Locking themselves away from the world and digging in deep to the work ahead of them, this band sought to harness everything that they collectively shared and present a very unique take on an already dying genre. It was more than enough.
