Silencer – Death, Pierce Me

Continuing the DSBM binge started in my review of Shining’s VI Klagopsalmer I decided to hunt down another cornerstone of the genre, Silencer.

Releasing only one album, Death, Pierce Me, Silencer achieved notoriety for the fact that its vocalist was clinically insane. According to “official” sources (read: the black metal rumour mill), soon after the recording of the album, Nattramn was institutionalised for attacking two girls in a park and then attempting suicide-by-cop. Given this information and a rather disturbing picture of the vocalist/lyricist in question, I had to hear this band!

The first thing that sets Silencer apart from most black metal is the vocals. Compared to everything from a dying cat to Yoda, Nattramn howls and squawks rather than the typical black metal rasps and screaming. It puts many people off the album, which, aside from the vocals is traditional, yet proficient black metal. Personally, I find the vocals help with the depressing, suicidal atmosphere of the music. Nattramn not only is insane, but he sounds it and you, as the listener, are forced to feel it. The desperate sounds are barely human, which gives a very eerie atmosphere to the proceedings.

Even though I can’t even type the name with a straight face, Sterile Nails and Thunderbowels is definitely the standout track on this 6 part opus. Mixing fast-paced black metal passages over ambient interludes punctuated by Nattramn’s croaking sobs, the lyrics are definitely the ramblings of a madman at the end of his tether.

Every track on this album creates the atmosphere that DSBM requires, drawing you into Nattramn’s consciousness and looming over the frightened figure shrieking in the corner. While I would say it lacks the melancholic atmosphere of Forgotten Tomb, Death, Pierce Me manages to creep you out in all the right places, and if you can get over the unorthodox vocal style, Silencer is a truly incredible band.

Dr. Steel – People of Earth

The cult of personality is the only possible way to explain the man, the music and the ideology behind Dr. Steel. Self-proclaimed mad scientist and future world ruler, Dr. Steel, exudes a philosophy that encourages human transience and a hedonistic, yet innocent and playful pursuit of pleasure and fun in life. It is definitely worth checking out his youtube videos; as wacky and Saturday Morning Cartoon-y as they appear, because the ideas put forward are simultaneously informative and entertaining.

And this entertainment is ultimately what Dr. Steel is all about. According to the good doctor, the best way to get people to support your beliefs is to entertain them. And what better form of entertainment than music?
Creating a strange fusion of industrial, hip-hop and rockabilly, Dr. Steel waxes philosophical about the mechanical day-to-day drudgery of office work, Fibonacci numbers, consumerism and human singularity on People of Earth, as well as entertaining more fantastical ideas like atom bombs destroying cities and cheesy, Twilight Zone-esque space exploration. Each track is memorable in one way or another, be it through the lyrical delivery or a catchy hook, most apparent in the flagship track, Back and Forth.

The only thing that may put new listeners off is the steampunk aesthetic that seems to incorporate everything from heavily distorted guitars to steel piano and music-box sounds. However, despite the varying presentation of tracks, the uniqueness remains; each track is instantly recognisable as a Dr. Steel track. The lyrical delivery is akin to KMFDM’s rapid fire lyrical wordplay, often with very simple riffs in the background.

With People of Earth, Dr. Steel achieves what his philosophy sets out to do – the album is simply Fun! It is the perfect music for a productive day at home and is most certainly a soundtrack with which to take over the world!

Dismember – Death Metal

As one of the bands that originated the Melodic Death Metal genre, I was interested in hearing some Dismember even though my love for the genre has waned somewhat over the years.

Death Metal certainly doesn’t pull any punches, it contains exactly what’s on the box. Rapid fire riffs, growled vocals (well, closer to thrashy, shouted) and a very good display of musicianship and adherence to the genre.
Highlights include the very triumphant opening track, the born-and-bred-in-Gothenburg Misanthropic and the decidedly down-tempo Stillborn Ways which has a very Hypocrisy feel to it. Each track is solid and well structured; there is groove aplenty and die-hard fans of melodic death will not go away unpleased.

The low production quality on the album is very noticeable. Everything sounds quite fuzzy, and compared to the albums that similar bands were putting out at roughly the same time (i.e. In Flames’ Whoracle) it is frankly quite shoddy. For a genre that breeds tonechasers like no other, it is quite frustrating to be faced with such poor recording quality. The other major issue I have with the album is that it is nothing new. By the release of this album, Dismember was on their fourth release, and it does not feel like it takes the genre any further. I do not have enough knowledge of their previous albums to determine whether it was a progression for the band, but it is frustrating when everyone is producing exactly the same music.

Ultimately Death Metal, despite delivering exactly what it says on the cover did not impress me much. But that is most probably because I have become distanced from the melodic death metal genre; if you’re a die-hard fan, pick this one up!