The Horrorist- Attack Decay

The Horrorist -Attack Decay

(Out of Line Records)

 


The Horrorist is one of those bands that are hard to classify, which is a good thing.  It’s aggressive industrial  with a punk aesthetic. This album points out, unfortunately, one of the things that is missing all too much from a lot of industrial albums: the earnest rage. Industrial was never meant to be neatly packaged, and there’s seventeen tracks on this album here to upset (or enlighten) the industrial neophyte.
A reviewer is always happy to come across music that is going to be hard to put in a genre. Attack Decay is pleasing on so many fronts. Eschewing the tropes of so much industrial and EBM, The Horrorist goes right for the jugular with its aggressive industrial, like Nitzer Ebb on crack. Those that grew up with ‘80’s and 90’s industrial in their tape decks, will greet this album with familiarity and surprise. This makes a lot of “harsh” EBM, sound like a goth kid griping about his allowance. This isn’t music that is going to pack a dance floor, this isn’t going to please a kinder-goth, this is sick and unpleasant industrial. This album recalls the best of what Skinny Puppy did on some of the better songs on the “Brap” album, with slightly more traditional song structures.
The album opens with “Now Destructor” which is a brilliant and noisy track. The opening sounds like some of the sound effects to Dawn of The Dead, and has the same disorienting effect. This album doesn’t have the slick sound and polish of a lot of Industrial and EBM, but these songs show just how little that really matters. I used the word earnest to describe this album, and that’s the best word. “You are Disturbing” is also a great track. The vocals or subdued and hypnotic. Definitely a standout track. The patches on this track could have come from the 8-bit Nintendo, but that’s half the beauty. Despite that, this album never sounds dated.  If there were justice in the world, this would be getting spun instead a lot of rehash EBM.
Lastly, there is a sense of humor on this album, in track like “13 Dobermans,” and “Room of Posers.” It’s refreshing. Industrial and Goth used to have a sense of humor about itself, and yeah, it needs to have it again. You need to check these songs out, and you need to get these songs spun at clubs. If your thing is Industrial music that is not what every other band seems to be doing, this is an album you must have. If you remember a time when Industrial was not a product, get this album.