Review Summary: .....And I Took Off All My Clothes Off
It’s been theorized that in the unlikely event of nuclear war, all life as we know it will come to an abrupt halt; cities leveled and entire townships erased from geographic memory. The only remaining survivors thought to withstand a colossal disaster of this magnitude would be cockroaches. And knowing their strength and persistence, this isn’t that difficult to come to terms with. Any respected home owner who is unfortunate enough to have to deal with these little fellows has probably tried every trick in the book to rid them of their presence; and in turn, ungratefully assisted them in building yet another tolerance in an already countless list of chemicals and poisons….. And did I mention these little bastards can live for nearly a week without their heads? I’m sure by now you get the idea.
The same distinctions can be made regarding the current trends in the metal community. With the overabundance of mundane and workman-like songwriting popping up in every nook and cranny it’s no surprise that people have given up on new, up and coming acts, recoiling in disgust. Its bands like
We Butter The Bread With Butter that reaffirm these speculations tenfold.
It can’t be denied. Any respected, metal enthusiast has come across this type of metal/deathcore-*** stew.(
IWrestledABearOnce,
The Devil Wears Prada,
Carnifex,
Suicide Silence) With the added bonus of techno dance injected in the mix, it’s no surprise that certain groups are willing to jump on board calling this type of meandering innovative and fun. I feel slightly hypocritical whereas I too have cradled and cuddled with this unrelenting vermin in the musical platter that is
The Monolith Deathcult. This Dutch, death metal group incorporate this same recipe of techno dance with their brand of death metal. Perhaps I’m splitting hairs but there was something a bit more welcoming and refreshing in this outing. WBTBWB tends to stray toward the rotten, decayed fecal matter of the genre and pass the test with flying colors. See all aforementioned acts above and then incorporate the nuisance of rave-monotony.
Album opener ‘Der Anfang vom Ende’ opens with a somewhat interesting techno groove and is quickly augmented with some crunching riffing with a repetitive spiel of low and high pitched vocal arrangements. Sadly, this introductory tune is about the most noteworthy segment on ‘Der Tag an dem die Welt unterging.’ This recipe follows into the title track with minimal persistence providing the same regurgitated, over processed breakdowns along with the added pops and clicks of computer noise.
While progression has occurred since WBTBWB’s last album, there is a continual problem with ‘Der Tag an dem die Welt unterging:’ the album’s memorable moments reside in the techno beats while the metal sits as mere background noise. With the exception of track five ‘Superfohn Bananendate’ and its quirky guitar play and closing, child-scatting, there is nothing too memorable that demands attention or replay. Even this track has bothersome filler that gets in the way of its potential. ‘Der klein Vampir’ still baffles me to this day, sitting as a rave-styled tune completely out of place. Avoid like the plague…
While the drums on this album aren’t necessarily bad, they too take a back seat to the above-mentioned elements. The vocals, although varied in their presentation, also build a monotonous tone with the guitars when the listener is finally given something other than techno beats. Rest assured, all of it is short lived.
It’s disheartening to see this type of excess continually crammed and reprocessed by group after group. I won’t fully write these guys off whereas there is some slight potential. When more focus is given to all elements of the musical package I may reassess my thinking. Until then I must remain hunched in the corner with bug juice and coiled newspaper in hand, smashing these ***ers to no avail.
