I remember the first time I saw The Exorcist. I was scared out of my mind for the next month or two; I couldn't sleep without a light on! I was terrified that such a satanic occurrence could be real. Having forgotten about it a year or so later, I went back and saw it again. I had a mild version of the same effect, but this time I noticed something about myself -- there was some sort of driving emotion, urging me to see the movie once more, for the thrill, the scare... somehow it gave me pleasure. I loved the feeling of surviving a totally harmless film. Somehow, this event, finding pleasure in being frightened, thrives on Christian Death's debut, 'Only Theatre of Pain.'
The first time that vocalist Rozz Williams' groaning, tortured cries kissed my ears, I knew that 'OTOP' was definitely NOT going to be an accessible record. Once the eerie church-bells of opening track "Cavity - First Communion" came into my audibility, shivers shot down my spine similar to that of The Exorcist; I was scared, and I didn't know what to expect. As such, the first listen was mundanely disturbing. However, I still wanted to listen to this album again, and again, and so forth. I though that the driving bass melodies and atonal, noisy guitar riffs (that sometimes seem to squeal more than emit sound) amidst the moans of Williams, with time, would seem to become enjoyable.
Unfortunately, I was disappointed.
As is the case with many other bands, Christian Death will constantly portray their starter-bashfulness to innovate on their opus. What I notice to be most disappointing about this LP is its lack of repetitivity. Often, there are catchy guitar hooks that aren't repeated enough times for enjoyment. Being as that is, I feel that CD hasn't found the middle-ground of over-playing and deprivation; they are underdeveloped musically. This occurs on track 1: the tempo changes at the chorus, creating a memorable tune which is only played throughout the 4-minute song once, decreasing the potential enjoyment of the album. Another shortcoming that 'OTOP' displays is its lack of progression in most cases. Most songs will only play ONE refrain, as if they are unable to innovate any further. Track 4, "Mysterium Inquitatis" unveils this characteristic most noticeably as only two riffs are constantly played. This shows how immature CD is in their musical style.
Another obvious weakness this album painfully exhibits is its generic lyrical skill. Quite often, lack of delivery and originality can play a huge role in the enjoyment one may get out of an album. On "Stairs - Uncertain Journey", few satanic ideas are spoken, which bored me very much while listening to it:- "Lucifer perish, I recall sin... Satan be." What occurs here is often cited as pretention in most cases. When a band is lyrically insightful about the ideas of religion and/ or atheism, enjoyment may be induced. However, when recording your worship-sessions, songs get very boring very quickly. The way in which these lyrics are delivered contribute to the success of this album also; the singer sings with absolutely no enthusiasm at all. 'OTOP' plays music like they are being forced to -- this is not how punk is supposed to be.
I never really watched The Exorcist after all that. Looking back, I didn't really enjoy it. I just liked the feeling that I go when I got scared, I guess. Unfortunately, this same feeling tapers off its nasty bite when you get past the fright it causes; this is because it trivializes the validity of the art itself. And that's exactly what we have here -- empty horror. 2/5
