This is probably one of the weirdest modern groups I've listened to. Two vocalists, two percussionists, guitarist, and no bassist, but rather a person who plays an instrument of their name.
Grater - Motograter, Samples
Ghost - Verbal Abuse, Criticisms, Melodic Slander (That means 'Vocals')
Smur - Drums, Screams, Samples
Crispy - Drums
Zak - Vocals
J.R. - Guitars
I'm as lost as you are. For ease of reference, and because I really can't tell them apart, singers will be denoted 1 and 2...I know for a fact that they switch off in terms of who sings what, I've seen them do it live...as to who's who, your guess is as good as mine. This CD is technically 22 tracks long, however, the odd numbered songs are simply shortened, backwards/effected samples of the real songs. They won't be getting reviewed.
The Tracks:
Suffocate (3:00)
Opens up with heavy double percussion and a decent guitar riff. Singer 1 comes in with a semi-scream of RISE and they break into the verse, pseudo-fast singing. Not quite the chorus, but a break, singer 2 screams SUFFOCATE as the other adds other lyrics. Another verse comes in, another pre-chorus, I guess, then the real chorus which sees some very nice harmonizing between the two vocalists and an intense double bass 'riff' from Crispy...a bridge section that breaks back into the intro riff followed by another verse. This is one song where you can clearly hear the second percussion part...the dude plays drums that look like they were made out of metal barrels/trash cans...they are the heavier, metallic sounding drums, if you couldn't tell. Fade out after a couple of "SUFFOCATES"
Down (3:29)
The first single. This is another song you can clearly hear every part, and is probably the best example of what the motograter actually sounds like. Opens with a nice sampled intro, then the percussionists come in...I like the sound of the metallic drums...and that weird, deep, springy sort of noise? That's the motograter....kinda reminds me of Fieldy's style of slap bass, but I like it's tone better. How does it change note value? Haven't a clue, but I do believe it does. Anywho. Clean singing for the verse and chorus, I like it, it's
powerful, and involves a switchoff between the two singers...they sound very similar, but one has a higher pitched voice. Repeat the cycle. Add some screaming and different riffs at the end of the second verse, go into another chorus. Bridge section comes up...nice lead guitar line that comes up...it repeats itself in a 2 bar pattern, but I like it. After the lead part, they all go crazy...this is what makes Motograter...Motograter...intense sections with everyone going kinda nuts...another chorus, and some varied guitar and drum work and we end.
Prophecies (2:50)
Shortest song on here, and it's one of my favorites. Opens with a powerchord progression that I happen to enjoy, percussion and motograter come in a few moments later, enter the verse. Chords are sustained while percussionists and motograter keep the beat. The lyrics here are quite apocalyptic, and sung evilly. I love the harmonizing that goes on in the chorus of the song...these guys are good for this. Repeat verse/chorus...pay attention to
the lyrics of the second verse...he mentions AOL in there...funny that it happens to be in a song about the End. Enter the bridge, which is broken up into two parts. This bridge isn't too special, everyone repeats themselves a few times before the buildup comes up...and everyone goes nucking futs ones again. Another chorus, and they end
Wrong (3:43)
Opens with some chugging guitar and a very odd sample of some sort of scream or something...main riff gets somewhat heavier before going into the verse. You can hear the motograter pretty well in this song too, a surprise. Clean vocals break into screaming and people go mildly nuts for the first half of the chorus before the clean vocals come back. A nice balance of agression and melody I think. Repeat the cycle complete with that odd opening sample...bridge time...there's some weird not-quite-a-pickscrape sound that comes in..I think it's the motograter, but I'm not sure...the metallic drums get a few nice fills in here before they break into another loud chorus...end with a modified repeat of the introduction and a telephone ring...?
No Name (3:14)
Opens with a palm muted riff that breaks open pretty quickly...heavy intro...but they pull a fast one on us...by turning off the distortion on the guitar and toning down...everything. This is a very melodic song, and I love it...there sounds like an actual bass being played, with some slight distortion...unless the motograter can actually get a sound like that, but I doubt it. Chorus involves dual harmonizing, vocally, again, before heading into another verse. The chorus is a bit heavier than the verse, actually, but even then it's not nearly as intense as their other songs. Bridge section comes up, and the intensity comes back for a few bars...but then we get acoustic guitars? It's not really a solo, but the break is nice. The guitar drops out for the next prechorus...then roars back in, but is subdued, for the next chorus...the bridge riff is repeated a few times before we move right into...
Collapse (2:58)
Opens with a faster riff that sounds like something a heavier punk band would be playing...it's not bad, but not a sound I happen to like alot. A drum fill leads us into the verse, involves alot of yelling vocals, then the chorus moves back into that longer, drawn-out, dual vocalist style of clean vocals for the chorus...like clockwork, we're repeating the cycle again. Bridge comes up...the same punkish feel is kept, but the verse is mixed up, and the drumming gets mixed up as well...some overdubbing is done, I believe on the guitar part, and then another chorus or two ends this one...easily one of their weaker songs...
New Design (4:14)
Opens with some odd, sweeping sort of sample, before breaking into the intro...it's somewhat heavy, but not too much so. The verse is like No Name a bit, clean guitar, that odd bass sound, etc..I like it. The verse kicks back in with heavier everything, powerful clean vocals, but no harmonizing, at least not on this chorus. Surprise, we're going to do it again...Next chorus is lead into by some screaming, I assume from the other vocalist...another large-feeling chorus, before we go into a bridge. This bridge has vocals in it though, as if it's another verse...actually, it might be a third verse, just with distortion...it's funny, he says "The cycle will repeat itself / On and on and on". Kind of ironic that describes their songs in a way...we get another verse and chorus section, strange, but not bad. Another bridge-like section or so before we get weird distorted talking and feedback to end it
Red (3:46)
Opens with some heavy chugging muted chords...not bad at all. Screams lead into the verse, and that heavy feel is kept, though not muted all the time. This is a good song to hear their second percussionist as well...his snares are the ones that reverbate, alot, if you haven't figured it out. Verse doesn't have much guitar work, but the percussion keep it up. Chorus comes in with that heavy, sorta-muted feel. This one sorta has that slow-pulse feel to it, but it's mainly in the chorus. From what I heard, I don't think the main beat is kept with any cymbals..I didn't hear any, but rather alot of bassdrum/tom work keeping it up. Interesting. Bridge section follows it up, he screams RED~! quite a bit as the guitar keeps up that heavy-slow feel...some more vocals, which involve him alternating between lower and falsetto sort of vocals...I don't prefer that part...we chug through another chorus or so and end it on that heavy riff.
Mutiny (2:58)
This one starts out faster, and reminds me of Stabbing Westward alot...I like the opening riff alot, then we move into the verse. Use of wah pedal happens here, which is good to see another effect being used besides the distortion. No chorus at first, but rather another verse...involves singing between both guys, they go back and forth, sing a line, etc. Chorus comes in, they both do some screaming, back and forth, in the first part, then the second part keeps the heavy riffing going, but they add more depth to the vocals, and harmonization. Another verse/chorus. Bridge comes in, and it's all percussion...no motograter, no guitar, no vocals, it's just a percussion break between Crispy and Smur...roar back into another chorus, end on the intro riff.
Get Back (3:24)
Opens with a heavy, *almost* machine-gun riff and the verse breaks right in after that...then some clean vocals come in, with a different riff. The chorus is odd, he does some sort of delay/echo effect on his singing in the first part of the chorus, which is screamed, then back into the cleaner vocals. Repeat the cycle again...no weird delay effect this chorus, however. Seems as if the guitar is doing some tremelo picking in this part, but I could be mistaken...repeat the chorus...bridge comes up, I believe they use parts of the intro riff or the intro riff for this before going into a modified chorus at the end.
Fight (2:39)
Opens up with air-raid sirens and intense percussion. Breaks right into the verse, with screaming and intense percussion over a hard guitar riff. Chorus involves both vocalists screaming for all they are worth, everyone's going pretty much nuts. Another verse/chorus (what's new?) Bridge comes up...more air-raid sirens, some odd samples in the back, and the percussive onslought continues before another verse comes up with another chorus and more of that bridge section. If you want to get technical, this is the shortest song. It's running time is 7:46, but the actual music ends at 2:39 and you get a long sample of a bomb exploding/jet engine. Really dumb, but the actual song is pretty good.
Likes:
Good use of dual percussionists
Great use of dual vocalists
Decent use of samples
Decent guitar riffs
Dislike:
Repetition of songs
Repetition of song structure
Undecided:
The Motograter
I love the way these guys use the two percussionists. Unlike Slipknot, in which I can never seem to tell who's doing what when...there is usually a clear idea of who's playing what here. You can't always here Smur's lines, but you can more often than not. And when you do, it's usually pretty good. The two vocalist thing is great. They sound very similar (and makes me wonder if they aren't related somehow) but yet different. They can both scream their hearts out, and they can both do clean harmonies together. Alot of their sample work isn't bad, for instance the intro to Down I happen to like. Their guitar work certainly isn't the pinnacle of pseudo-mainstream alt-metal, but it's not bad either. I really wish these guys had mixed it up a little...a little less verse/chorus/verse/chorus/bridge structure might've been nice. They did that a few times, but not often enough to make a difference. The jury is out, however, on the motograter itself. Being a bassist, I dislike the fact that there isn't someone playing bass with them. I do like the ingenuity of the motograter, but in terms of an instrument? When it's audible, I like it. They said it sounded 'EVIL' and I would agree, to an extent. It usually gets lost in the mix of double percussion, however...which is a shame. I personally would like to know more about it, how it's wired/picked up, how you change notes, etc. If they ever come back, I'll make sure to try and ask Grater myself
I give this 3/5. They may not be doing anything different then what's out there, but they do it in a different way. New album out at the end of the year, they hope, so I look forward to it.
