Review Summary: I'M A VAMPIRE! I'M A VAMPIRE! I'M A VAMPIRE! I'M A VAMPIRE!
Cage G.N is a 3-piece grindcore act hailing from Bristol, England, whose music is entirely dedicated to the cinematic rage of the great Nicholas Cage. To put it simply, this album is furious, so furious in fact that it will easily put to rest anyone’s notion of this album just being a silly gimmick. The musicianship here is quite fantastic. The guitar riffs by Petey G are very creative and catchy, often inducing serious headbanging upon the listener. The drums are straight-up pummeling with intense blast-beats, half-time beatdowns, and well-done 2/4 timed punk rock mosh fests. And the main highlight that cannot be ignored is the absolutely insane vocal work done by either Stuart Morgan or Kurtis Pope whose roles in the band are not stated. The only way I describe these vocals are like a banshee loosing its ***ing ***. Most of which are an insanely high end throat searing scream that while might seem headache inducing are actually extremely fitting and sound quite kick-ass if I may say. There are also some well-placed mid-range screams and yells in between. Oh, and the bass is sweet too, the tone is nice and well… bassy, as well as fitting comfortably into the mix giving the album the perfect amount of low-end.
The first standout on Pilots is “Vampire’s Kiss”, whose brilliance cannot be
overstated. The intro of the song starts with a sample from the movie Vampire’s Kiss, where Nicholas Cage starts losing it in front of his therapist reciting the alphabet loudly in a rhythmic manor before the song’s drums come in following his meter perfectly, showing what a magnificent job the band did making movie samples fit into their songs. And it’s not the only song that does a great job making the music fit with samples. They also include the skramz influenced song “Knowing” that grows in intensity as an argument ensues begin Nick and his significant other. As well as the moshtastic “Fire Birds” that builds into a monster of a breakdown after Nick repeatedly yells “I am the GREATEST”. Also it must be noted that all the songs on Pilots have the same title as the movies from which the samples are taken.
One of the most enjoyable things about Pilots is there are a few different styles displayed throughout that give it a well structured listened. They are also well placed to give the album just the right amount of breathing room throughout the 20-minute duration. The grind being the main focus but there is also hints of emo tinged Pg.99-esque brilliance in “Knowing” and “Fire Birds”. As well as Converge style hardcore in the songs “Matchstick Men” and “Trapped In Paradise” and the overall punk rock feel that show up in a good number of tracks.
Overall, despite its relative shortness Cage Grind Noir’s Pilots fully delivers a satisfying listen that will keep you coming back for more. It will throw you through a whirlwind of blastbeats, headbang inducing breakdowns, well placed samples that will make you chuckle with each listen, and even some emotional sections that bring the feelz. Even a year later I keep this album in steady rotation and still get the same level enjoyment out of it. Yeah, this *** ***ing rips like a chainsaw through your anus and rocks ur dick off with the intensity of being on an 8 ball of speed and some bath salts.
