Review Summary: Motograter’s full length debut album shows a unique side of nu-metal, while adding a hint of industrial to the mix. Its odd sounding at some points, but it still makes an enjoyable record.
Nu-metal is a genre that has received mixed reviews from people worldwide over the years. When it was in its prime in the late 90’s you could feel the energy and power it had over the masses. Most of the bands have since lost their former glory and have descended into mediocrity (Korn, Mudvayne, and Limp Bizkit being examples of these). In 2003, a band rose from the depths known as Motograter. Although they have been categorized as nu-metal, they add certain aspects to their music that certainly makes them stand out from the others, most important of which is the actual instrument their band is named after. Since this album the band have slit up, reformed, and changed their lineup almost entirely but on this record it shows the band arguably at the best they ever could have been.
The album has 22 tracks, 11 of which are actual songs and another 11 that are short samples of the songs played backwards with static added. Some might not like the fact that the songs end suddenly sometimes or that the samples create too much filler, but the record flows through in a manner that I didn’t find disappointing. It opens with the hard hitting “Suffocate” which was featured on the soundtrack for the 2003 remake of “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”. The song is heavy, its fun, and it displays each member bringing something to the table. The chorus is sung by vocalist Ivan Moody and it’s pretty melodic. “Down” really presents Moody’s range and vocal style and has heavy verses and a heartfelt chorus. The guitar riff in the beginning is also interesting and uses some cool delay effects. On “Wrong”, the band make use of both of their vocalists quite well. Ivan sings the chorus while second vocalist Zak screams the pre-chorus. Throughout the record, Ivan sings and growls and Zak screams and backs him up. It works quite well and definitely adds to the heavy atmosphere. They are both in perfect sync with each other and the band.
While the vocals are always important, the other band members deserve some credit as well. Crispy is a great drummer and his beats and little “fills” behind the kit on this album proving to be vital to the bands sound. He keeps up the heavy-ness and doesn’t let up. Guitarist J.R. has some cool riffs here and there on this album. Worth noting are the tracks “Suffocate”, “Down”, and “Red”. There are no guitar solos on this record but they weren’t needed; guitar isn’t something that the band makes stick out by any means on this album. Smur produces some great samples (notable on all 11 of the sample tracks) and offers some backup percussion to Crispy which further cements their powerful drum sound throughout the record. You can also tell which if the drummers are playing too which is a plus. Grater (founding member who wields the instrument itself) is also very important to the bands sound, for the Motograter replaces the bass and adds a very heavy and distorted tone to the music, particularly in songs like “Down”, “No Name”, “Fight”, and “Collapse”.
On an odd sounding album such as this, standout tracks can be hard to choose from. The first 2 are definitely worth noting. “Suffocate” is a great album opener, and “Down” is catchy, melodic, and heavy all at the same time which works great for a 1st single. “No Name” is arguably the best song on the album. Ivan’s vocal performance on the song is spectacular and really gets you singing the lyrics. The guitar is heavy and hard-hitting, and the Motograter pounds underneath it (almost sounding like a bass in this song). “Fight” ends the album on a heavy note and has a screamed chorus featuring both vocalists. The only annoying thing about the track is the very long sampled explosions that go on until the album fades out. The song itself is relatively short. If you check out any song on this album though, you will find a good example of what this band is all about. It’s mostly all there no matter which song you choose to give a listen.
Overall, Motograter are in top form on this album. Sure, they might be nu-metal, but at least they do it a bit differently then their peers. They stick out from the pack and have a fun sound, and this record could actually surprise you if you give it a chance. That’s what it did for me. It’s a shame this lineup will probably never see the light of day again, cause they sound really well and comfortable in their sound on this record. They have something unique about them, and it’s hard to find something this interesting in the heap of nu-metal bands that went to *** over the past few years.
