Alex - Guitar & Vocals
Kathy - Bass
Kyle - Guitar
Rocky - Drums
“The crudest, rudest, most vile band in America”
-Rue Morgue Magazine
Cancerslug is pretty much a band that is the epitome of f'uckd up. From their lyrics that would silence any “controversial” rapper or rock group and make an active Christian cringe; to they’re instruments tuned down to borderline black noise, or the fact that any other form of media they can get their claws on is made disturbing. However, beneath all the unholy evil, lies an artistically superior group. Every single song they’ve recorded is free for download on their website and they hardly ever pass up a show proposed by a fan. In other words, they’re truly an underground no bull-sh'it band.
They also have a substantially prolific sound…raw and unpolished, yet infectious. Every note is seething with emotion. If in need of music to harness the mood of pissed off, this is perfect. Not one track on this album, or out of their entire song collection strays from being depraved and destructive. You won’t find a slow romantic ballad to lighten the mood, not even as a jab at being humorous. Cancerslug manages to be a hardcore rock band without slamming a double bass pedal for three minutes straight, or cry-screaming. A lot of the generic hardcore bands yell every lyric because its in their job description as a hardcore band to do so. …Cancerslug’s music contains screaming because they dislike mankind immensely
Not all dark n’ angry music has to be impossible to listen to. Most of the songs on hear, if tuned to standard, with completely overhauled lyrics and higher production value could pass as a radio friendly pop punk tune. Cancerslug’s stuff is well written and constructed but jam packed with gore and violence, much like a good horror movie.
“Soulless” begins with
Alleyways and Ditches. The verses start with a bouncy rhythm and clean guitar, but the chorus detonates with distortion and singer Alex Story’s vocal roar. In
Bloodseed, he grunts like a werewolf but sings like a baritone Glenn Danzig.
Curdled is the most unique song. It’s slow in tempo for the beginning, with impressive singing that ranges from angelic to savage when it speeds up at the end.
Cycle of the Wolf is mostly devoid of any distinct melody, but with bone crushingly rapid drums. It’s one of the best tracks on hear because it simply sounds powerful with just an exemplary lyrical scheme and a build up to a melodious ending that comes out of nowhere and really makes a song memorable.
Demighoul opens with
“We will pray in the synagogue of the seven spiders
lay down beside her and watch the blood flow as she coughs it on the floor
we will fistf'uck the walls around us, until the world crumbles down around us”
The guitars go down to pitch black palm mutes, an Alex subdues his voice to a threatening tone.
Endless is aggressive and to the point, with pounding drums that let up and end with a dark crawling harmony. This is the formula that remains constant in the material of many contemporary hard rock bands. Simply play fast and scream everything for proper head banging and adrenaline summoning. Then just incorporate an easy listening section, to relieve the tension. It’s definitely a predictable recipe for a modern day heavy metal song, but Cancerslug just does it right. Mainly because they manage to convey non synthetic ardor for emotion, without sounding like a bunch of pussies.
Fetus Milkshake is a consistently slow, morbid song about what else but a cold frothy beverage made from a human fetus. If they haven’t offended anyone by now, then they might on their abortion stance . It’s just shock value, for a haunting ballad.
It’s all Bullshit starts with an upbeat fun in the sun guitar riff which leads to slow ring outs and instruments that manage to sound bloodthirsty, even without singing a word.
New Death Song has a great trudging intro and bridge that makes you want to head bang hard in slow motion. Of course all that slow stuff is separated by speed.
Remnants has more focus on the vocals, while
Soulless is more into just being aggressive. It includes Cancerslug‘s signature “ugly-harmonics”. Though more common in their newer music, it ends with pinch harmonics that sound dark and foul, instead of the brighter squeels more abundantly heard from other bands.
Winter, the shortest song is pretty customary…some of its fast and some of it’s just faster.
Cancerslug’s mode of attack is a multitude of quick songs instead of a few drawn out ones (the longest is about two and a half minutes). They’re an ambitious band, as they isolate themselves from the rest with a straight forward DIY approach. The sound is rough, but it has a little something to it…And they’re quite content sitting on a throne of filth at the morbid and extreme end of the music spectrum. Others like Mayhem, and GG Allin once prospered in the same shadows. But after all it’s not a race to see who can be the most sinister band, because the only reason anyone should care about them is the songs they crank out…and they’re all pretty damn good.
"Once it is all said and done, this band may have never made any money - but it will be a legend - like some fucking greek gods of underground music. We won't ever be loved by many, but we will be respected by the people that actually got what we were doing."
- Alex Story
"Soulless", and every other Cancerslug album can be downloaded free from www.cancerslug.net
