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Review Summary: Anything that could be improved was improved, and new pieces have been added, resulting in the pinnacle Rabbit Junk release. JP Anderson and his wife Jennifer "Sum Grrl" Bernert have come a long way since their Rabbit Junk debut back in 2004. That release (and the subsequent two releases) took an ‘everything but the kitchen sink’ approach to their digital hardcore sound. Those albums mixed electronics, industrial metal, black metal, nu metal, reggae, and hip-hop (to name a few) to create a chaotic tour de force. Those first three releases provided the blueprint for the band’s first huge leap forward, Project Nonagon. That album found the band tightening down on the chaos and better integrating the various genre influences into one semi-cohesive collection of songs. For the next eight years, though, they were content to release various singles that each approached the band’s sound from different angles (while introducing a significant increase in electronic elements). This culminated in Rabbit Junk Will Die in 2018 and Xenospheres in 2020.
Xenospheres was another huge leap forward as JP Anderson perfected the electro-dance meets industrial metal formula of the singles by introducing more melody and a honed songwriting skill. Despite just two years since that release, Apocalypse for Beginners is another huge leap forward. Listening to this album, it’s easy to tell that every facet of the band’s sound has been improved upon, and additional elements have even been introduced that take it to a new level. The biggest adjustment to Rabbit Junk’s sound is the huge increase in clean singing which has resulted in stronger hooks, as well as a greater sense of melody in every aspect of the music. The electronic elements, too, have taken on a larger role delivering dissonance, rhythm, and melody in just about equal parts. The focus on hooks and electronics have caused the guitars to fill more of an augmentation role than the wall-of-sound they’ve occupied in the past, but they still retain the aggression and heaviness Rabbit Junk has always delivered (they’re just not the prominent feature they were so often in the past).
The aspect I would consider ‘new’ for the band is harder to put into words. For lack of a better explanation, the band have just become more musical than ever before. Songs such as “Love is Hell” feature actual singing from Jennifer instead of her normal spoken-word delivery which creates a new and welcome element to the band’s sound. JP’s vocals, too, have been given more attention including an increased amount of vocal melody and even harmonic layering in places. There’s also a better use of dynamics, where quieter elements and subdued tempos share time with energetic beats, heavy riffs, and JP’s hardcore vocals resulting in songs (and an album) that have a greater sense of movement. The production, too, (while similar to Xenospheres) is warm, smooth and clear allowing every facet of the music to come through. Essentially, it feels like anything that could be improved was improved, and the missing pieces (that I didn’t even know were missing) from previous albums have finally been introduced, resulting in the pinnacle Rabbit Junk release.
I could gush further about how much of an improvement Apocalypse for Beginners is over anything that came before it, but you should really hear it for yourself. This is an album where strong hooks and layers of melodic synth share time with aggressive riffs, throbbing percussion, and an abundance of electronics – and it’s pretty damn flawless. It’s such an improvement over past offerings that it almost feels like a new era for the band. Apocalypse for Beginners is arguably Rabbit Junk’s most complete and compelling album.
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Album Rating: 3.5
I'm not well versed in industrial but I thought this was pretty enjoyable. It was also super consistent so check out those recommended tracks. If you like them, you'll like the whole thing.
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Cool album that I'll have to let soak before I can feel good about rating it (how do youse absorb new music so fast?), but it sounds Excellent.
After checking out Stabbing Westward after checking out your review, Willie, I thought at first this could be summarized as maybe a harder variety of Stabbing Westward. But the title track is full of all kinds of growls and dub step elements that are NOT much like Stabbing Westward, all kinds of elements that would probably be hard for merely average musicians to turn into music. If this album is also an example of their "tightening down on the chaos", it'll be interesting to puruse their older stuff and compare it.
Great band, great review.
| | | Album Rating: 4.0 | Sound Off
Had a listen today. Their cyber metal phase (stuff after Beast EP) isn't exactly my cup of tea, but this is the best so far imo, I really liked the variety here
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Great review. Thanks, will check it out this weekend.
btw: You might be interested in the fact that the new Noise Unit album was released today.
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I randomly saved one of Rabbit Junk's songs on Spotify - will check this for sure.
| | | Album Rating: 1.0
Now that’s album art
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Good first impression. For that price, I´ll buy it anyway. Also, with Amelia Arsenic on it, how could I resist? Plus, she sings in German! Incredibly funny to me.
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
Nostromo reminded me of Sybreed.
And it made me sad.
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
I don't think this is that much better than the two previous albums.
Fav tracks:
Denature,
Nostromo,
The Grind,
Praetorian Aureol,
Rabbit out of Hiding,
Apocalypse for Beginnings.
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
I really liked the last Sybreed album a lot.
I think Apocalypse for Beginners is impressively different from the last two albums. But well, I quite enjoyed Must Die and Xenospheres too.
I wonder if the evolution has something to do with Rabbit Junk leaving Glitchmode recordings (they did, didn't they ?)
| | | Album Rating: 4.0 | Sound Off
Listening again. Definitely better than Will Die and also better than Xenospheres imo, it's just more memorable
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Quite liked Xenospheres and first track in I'm really digging this too
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
"a stone cold f*** you" makes the song unlistenable to me. It's just too cringe.
And it's a very serious shame because musically the track is really really good. And Amelia Arsenic's singing is awesome.
But yeah, I just can't listen to this dumb chorus.
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
Yeah, I know. They always have that one song (Like IDONTGIVEAFUCK) but for some reason that one feels a bit harder, maybe because it is otherwise very good. Anyway, maybe I'll take things a bit less seriously in a few days. I only discovered the album today.
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Cool album (3.5+), but I miss Rabbit Junk of the first two albums.
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It goes without saying that Rabbit Junk can do whatever they want, but industrial in general is more and more tailored for the dancefloors, whereas that brooding, menacing industrial of old recedes.
And I'm getting old for those dancefloors damn it haha
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More Shizit plz
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Rabbit Junk's wild experimentalism -- not the music -- on the early albums makes me think of the aesthetic of the early, so-called "true" industrial of Throbbing Gristle and all those first gen bands, and makes me wonder if KMFDM's recent forays into different genres were influenced a little by Rabbit Junk. More likely, KMFDM was thinking about Einsturzende Neubauten, but all of it hopefully points to new avenues for the genre.
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Listened to the new KMFDM and it was very powerless. Sure, they create (more the less) the same album since many years. As long as the songwriting is great, it is not a big problem for me. But more often than not, this is not the case. And yeah, they certainly could use some fresh ideas.
RabbitJunk: Listened to it couple more times. It took me a bit but then I realized that they remind me pretty much of Encephalon (vocals). And then we have songs that sound like Future Pop like Live is Hell. All in all a good album, but I hope they don´t become too tame.
Favorite so far: Nostromo
The lyrics with Arsenic I now understood completely. It hurts a bit, haha. Also, she sounds like Mickey Mouse. A very strange song. Anyway, I wonder how it must feel like for English native speakers when so many non native bands sing in English. I guess, depending on the accent, it is sometimes unbearable or at least hard to take seriously.
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
So, i've checked Stone cold lyrics. What on earth is that supposed to mean ? I've been worried that JP Anderson ch**t*d on Sum Grrr with Amelia Arsenic since the song Reveal and with Stone Cold and Love is Hell, it seems that he did. that which would suck hard. Or maybe it's another woman I don't know. Anyway.
On The Grind
from 1:57 to 2:16 there's one guy singing completely out of tune.
!?!
At 2:16 you can hear him give up on holding the note, it's just bad.
Who leaves that kind of stuff on their album ?
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