Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 11/11/2016
Label: Housecore Records
This is gnarly
and nasty music made by a figure that is both revered and reviled. Through all
the controversy, one thing keeps me coming back to listen to Anselmo: the
quality of the music. And the music is as potent as ever. A storming return.
“Caught up in the Gears of Application” CD//DD//LP track listing:
01. Today and
Tomorrow
02. Burning the Blanket
03. Ruin You
04. Caught Up In The Gears Of The Application
05. Sociopathic Herd Delusion
06. Circling the Drain
07. Clickbait
08. Asshole
09. Mutts Bite Too
10. Rigging the Fight
11. Receiving No Answer to the Knock
02. Burning the Blanket
03. Ruin You
04. Caught Up In The Gears Of The Application
05. Sociopathic Herd Delusion
06. Circling the Drain
07. Clickbait
08. Asshole
09. Mutts Bite Too
10. Rigging the Fight
11. Receiving No Answer to the Knock
The Review:
Superjoint
Ritual,
as this band effectively is, made a couple of records in the early 00's and
then disappeared as Down reignited and- by my estimation-
stagnated. Now, Anselmo is back with a rather different line up but still
peddling the same angst ridden mix of sped up/metalled up EHG/Saint Vitus and Black Flag.
Song
lengths are fairly concise, the anger is almost tangible and overall this is an
unholy racket of rather hardcore proportions. Anselmo recreates the vocal
stylings of his early 30's self to good effect. Naturally, he remains (now more
so than ever!) a divisive figure- but I'm not here to write about politics; so
the music is the focus here.
The
likes of “Ruin You” are punk-ish
blasts of anger and Phil really does turn in a good vocal performance of raging
fury; his best in years. The title track is just a ferocious beast, as is...
the rest of the album. Certainly, this record proves that Anselmo's writing and
performance have not been hurt by years of drug abuse, scandal, grief and
whatever else has been negative grist to his mill. When he screams “we
used to be drug addicts!” in “Circling
the Drain”, you know that he speaks from a place that you don't really want
to go to (no, not Bradford ).
Naturally,
there is no experimentation here, no subtlety and certainly no ballads. This is
horrible and pitch black stuff. In every sense, the album feels like a natural
successor to “A Lethal Dose...”
combining the bile of the previous two records with the propensity for
throwaway song titles (“Asshole”- a
nasty little track) and the raw production values. Through the latter stretch
of the album, from the lengthier “Clickbait”,
the bass intro sporting “Mutts Bite Too”,
the sharp “Rigging The Fight” and so
on, there is not one backwards step. The record just marches relentlessly
onwards.
By
the time it ends with the five and a half minutes of “Receiving No Answer to This”, it is quite a relief. This is gnarly
and nasty music made by a figure that is both revered and reviled. Through all
the controversy, one thing keeps me coming back to listen to Anselmo: the
quality of the music. And the music is as potent as ever. A storming return.
“Caught up in the Gears of Application”
is available here
