Review Summary: Samples of ethnic music, alternative rock and a bit of experimentation makes this album a refreshingly fun listen
When people think of industrial, often the first albums that come to mind are the likes of NINs Downward Spiral, Ministry’s Psalm 69. Albums of that calibre are certainly worthy of the hype and acclaim they recieve within the genre, but there is one band I think needs to be mentioned when discussing industrial music, and that band is Grotus. To be more specific; their magnum opus: Slow Motion Apocalypse. With a unique blend of industrial, alternative rock and hypnotizing sampled bits of ethnic music, they stand as a one of a kind among their peers. With two drummers, two bassists and a vocalist that convey his lyrics with both great humor and ferocity.
The album opens immediately with drums, distorted guitars and eerie sampled sounds lurking behind the instruments and the voice of vocalist Lars Fox. With the opening lyrics being: “Up rose the mountain
And the black cloud fell
Sky made a river
Flowing down the hill”
This is followed by the absurd and grotesquely funny “Good Evening”. An interlude of sorts, One could almost call it industrial music’s answer to Fitter Happier, which is full of sampled voices from commercials on top of a tad too cheerful elevator music-esque melody. With phrases like: “Recession, crime, murder, rape, robbery
Burglary, carjacking, scandal, AIDS
Parents accused of almost beating their child to death
Aggressive begging
A piece of Madonna’s underwear
Marauding bands of neo Nazis”
After the scatterbrained announcements from the interlude we are suddenly greeted with the angry, schizoid almost sludgy “The Same Old Sauce”, where the noisy, heavy sampled industrial sound become more and more apparent. Clocking in at only 2:15 it is the shortest song the album has to offer (apart from the previous interlude) and it ends with a sampled announcement that could easily have fitted on the previous track:
“Name something uncomfortable that people wear anyway
Bra!
All I can say is thank god”
Now we`re getting to one of the albums highlights, “Hourglass”, a song that offers infectious drumming, guitar playing that is almost in the vein of early Black Sabbath and catchy vocal melodies too. The lyrics here are up to interpretation and there’s a thin line between the ridicules and the cryptic on this album. It nonetheless fits perfectly with the apocalyptic theme of the album.
“Seasonally redefined
I cannot help but look away
Hourglass”
On to another of the greats this album has to offer. “Shivayanama”, one of the songs where the ethnic samples are at its most apparent, and vocalist Lars Fox does this creepy tribal voice chant. With slow doomy guitars and an effective atmosphere throughout, and groovy drumming, this is in many ways the essence of the album itself. Hypnotic, unique and hard to pinpoint exactly which genre they really belong.
“Complications” is a fun track where they really show off their influences from bands of the early 70`s with effects like flanger and phaser distorting the vocals and fuzzy guitars and bass to complement the singer.
“The hackers and loudmouths are my heroes
But I am just too polite to be like them
So quietly I make my complications
Happy watching, crumbling from within”
“Kali Yuga”, another highlight, in which they let their strengths really shine through. With great drumming from the two drummers, and the perfect blend between the distorted guitars, bass and the samples of ethnic music. The lyrics are hard to make out, but vocalist Lars Fox sounds angry and confused all the way to the scatterbrained, schizoid and noisy ending of the song.
“Clean” is maybe the song that’s easiest to label as industrial. It is not too far from sounding like something Nine Inch Nails could have made during the 90s either. Of course because of their originality and unique blend of genres it is impossible to mistake them for a band like NIN though.
“Raise my eyes from sleep
They roll back and the sight is clean”
“Sleepwalking” is without doubt in my mind the greatest song on this album, and possibly the best Grotus made during their all too short career. The ethnic samples are just so catchy and incorporated with the drums, guitars and vocals perfectly. And how they yell “Sleepwalking” on the chorus is just as memorable as it is haunting.
“Medicine” is like a continuation on the sound, which they showed us on “Clean”. This time around it is much more manic and disorientating with the repeating of
“Round and round and round
Round and round and round
Round and round and round”
“Slow Motion Apocalypse” closes up with its title track. Ambient, drony and sample laden it lives up to the name, and it also includes a hidden track with more of the epic drumming, cool riffs and haunting vocals.
Such a shame they didn’t make it and called it quits only after releasing three studio albums and even being championed by Mike Patton. If they have made an impact at all or left a legacy I don’t know, but this is a 90s gem that needs to be heard.
Recommended tracks: Hourglass, Shivayanama, Kali Yuga & Sleepwalking.
