Review Summary: Everybody Hates You (2005)-
Everybody Hates You (released in 2005) was Combichrist's first huge breakout album, and in a way the surprisingly simplistic music still holds as some of his best work to this day. The brash, rude, and fowl (yet jokingly playful) music has been a club staples for years (only to be overshadowed by later Combichrist releases) with dominating tracks like "This S*it Will Fcuk You Up" and "This Is My Rifle". For the most part, Everybody Hates You is primarily geared for the clubs. The beat-driven madness is aimed at getting your body flowing with energy, and for the most part this album delivers. The downside to this album is its general simplicity, and lack of groundbreaking content (even by 2005 standards). and Lyrically, the album isn’t very intelligent, but the hidden, yet not-so-hidden humor ranges from self-parody to fowl to shocking. No new ground is explored here , but in everything presented here is exceptionally solid.
This S*it Will Fcuk You Up- Mild distortion piled on top of driving beats, dirty robotic female vocals (courtesy of Microsoft Anna), and a catchy synth make for a tremendous hit. Back in 2005, this song was played like crazy, and with good reason. The energy this song has is astounding.
Enjoy the Abuse- Aggrotech at its finest, in my opinion. Enormously powerful (thought a tad simplistic) noises will encompass your senses and forcefully send you through dark and aggressive territory. The sadistic lyrics are arguably overdone, but in the end they only add to the power of this song.
Today I Woke to the Rain of Blood- This song shows off Combichrist’s odd, subtle sense of humor. The sheer goofiness of the subject matter won’t put you off (if you spot it correctly. FYI Combichrist’s music demands more attention that you might expect), due to the extremely harsh presentation. Largely danceable, an insanely catchy hook, and alarming vocals make this track shine.
I’m Happy Anyway- This track marks the beginning of an energy slump for the album. Vocals are a bit more mellow compared to the last 3 tracks, and the trance-like sounds give the song a bit of a slower feel, but the production values are solid, and the music is on-par with the rest of the album.
Blut Royale- One of Combichrist’s first hits (though I doubt it had the impact LaPlegua wanted), this militaristic-sounding song that references to the “Combichrist Army” (I THINK DON’T QUOTE ME ON THIS). Trance elements and commanding, march-like beats make this an enjoyable song, but it doesn’t astound on the same levels that other tracks do.
Who’s Your Daddy, Snakegirl?- In a way, this can be described as Industrial Drum n’ Bass. Heavy and constantly evolving layers of drums and heavy sounds make this a frenzied track, though it’s length may throw some off. The end of track incorporates some druggy trance elements, and when the trance and the drums fuse together, it can make for an awesome experience.
Feed Your Anger- Probably my least favorite song on this album. Grinding noise and solid beat don’t seem to help the uninteresting lyrics that try too hard to be edgy. With that being said, the song does improve over time, with new digital elements slowly collecting upon each other until the song almost sounds great.
God Bless- Yet another song that showcase’s Combichrist humor. Against a pounding beat and schizophrenic techno noise, a child’s robotic voice names a giant list of serial killers while soullessly delivering the line “God Bless”.
Like to Thank My Buddies- Repetitive lyrics may be the only flaw this song has. Commanding noise with a steady beat, along with some of the most anguished synth work I’ve ever heard provide for an extremely subtle experience. Plus, the song makes a major shift in melody during the last third, with a captivating build up in sound, propelling you in to one of the most addicting moments in EBM. Ever.
Happy Fcuking Birthday- Again with the silliness. This time, Microsoft Sam is here to wish you a very happy birthday. With simple beats, sounds, and synths, it may seem a little barebones, but everything sounds so pleasing that it does not matter.
This is My Rifle- Along with the first song, this track gain huge club popularity. Deep, gut-turning sounds, frantic pace, and amazing touches like the digitally-manipulated samples taken from Full Metal Jacket propel this song to unimaginable heights (FYI a good way to judge the popularity of a song is to see how many remixes the song had. This song had about 12 different mixes).
Lying Sack of S*it- Simple lyrics, simple sounds, good beat, and plenty of echoing noise give this song the *umph* it needs to stay consistent with the album’s high level of quality.
Without Emotions- Probably not as strong as a closing track should be, but still very good overall. Booming bass and beats, noisy synths, and lighthearted vocals make this a very good dance hit, but with a different, more honest kind of energy than the rest of the album (ending the album on a lighter note may not have been the best decision ever, but when things are this good, who cares?).
There was a second disc that had been released with this album in a special edition run, but now the album can be purchased by itself. It is called Everybody Hates You- The Dark Side. One interesting aspect of Combichrist is the songwriting. While most will label this music off as trash, or unintelligent strip-mining of 80’s industrial music, Everybody Hates You isn’t so much an album for the violent weirdos of the world. Everybody Hates You, and Combichrist in general, is actually a joke for the most part. If you walk into this album expecting serious, serious music, don’t. It wasn’t made to be taken seriously, it was meant as a playful joke, something to have unabashed fun (provided you get that your having fun with some really adult material). To Andy LaPlegua, the head guy of Combichrist (he does all the song writing, creative work, much like Trent Reznor from NIN does). LaPlegua has gone on record saying the Combichrist is “like a comicbook character…that I created for the music” (Nachtlich Industrial Radio Podcast- 03-08-09).
Combichrist is a playground for LaPlegua, where extremes in life are explored thoroughly, without fear of consequence. Combichrist is mostly just a harsh, rude, immoral character that was made solely to populate a style of music LaPlegua wants to create. LaPlegua is actually a very intelligent man. If you checkout LaPlegua’s first music project Icon of Coil, you can see that Andy has a brain on his shoulders, and he knows how to use it.
