Matamachete- Tanin No Kao

ARTIST: Matamachete

ALBUM: Tanin No Kao

LABEL: D-Trash Records

REVIEWER: Matthew J.

DATE: 2-10-09

With their mixture of hard drum 'n' bass beats, aggressive guitars, and punk-inspired shouts (often in Japanese, no less), Swiss group Matamachete are one of the more interesting things to hit the industrial scene of late. "Modus Operandi" opens their newest album with a violent blast pummeling breakbeats, chunky metal guitar riffs, and atonal yelps, something like what you'd imagine Mindless Self Indulgence would sound like if you replaced the juvenile humor with some real punk nihilism. Title track "Tanin No Kao" is brutal but funky, Japanese lyrics barked through a vocoder over gargantuan guitar chords and a rumbling hip-hop rhythm, and "Greed" can't quite decide of it's sexy or angry, pairing a throbbing bass and dirty synth sequence with mean guitars and throat-tearing shrieks. For all its intensity and barely controlled rage, this album has its lighter moments, too. "Brand of the Beast" and "Count Me Out" cross new school metal grooves with hip-hop breaks and a cleaner vocal delivery; they're big and brutal, but there's a funky vibe that's infectious and fun. "Freedom of Choice" actually slows down the electronics to a tempo approaching mellow, though the staccato vocals and sharp guitar riffs give the song its requisite edge, and "Few Things to Share" is one of the album's slowest tracks as well as its darkest, vocals snarled over a languid but oppressive rhythm section. With an aesthetic that draws on aggressive breakbeat and jungle rhythms as well as unapologetically metal guitar riffs, this is an album that manages to appeal in equal measure to drum 'n' bass and hard rock fans; it will especially appeal to fans of the new breed of industrial metal represented by groups like Rabbit Junk.

Check out Matamachete online at www.matamachete.com .