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Qtin* 1 f 1994
EAR WAX
Varga
Prototype/Zoo Entertainment
The formula for this highly
technical speed metol monster
is simple: Get a song with a
highly-catchy. hyperspeed riff.
'Greed.' and put It to video This
equates to an instant album
sale even though the remain
der of the album is weak, norv
iaspired filler Varga, a trio, ore
from Canada, but that doesn't
save them Remember Tri
umph? Look at Rush now Since
Prototype's sound is so con
centrated on showing people
how technical and complex
Varga can be. It crimes off as
hollow, stale and extremely
run-of-fhe-mil Highly-mecha
nized four times four speed
metal doesn't equate to too
much If there isn't any feeling
Yes. speed metol if done right
has feeling, although many of
you out there would probably
find that hard to believe.
Godflesh con get away with if.
so can Ministry, but Varga
needs to go bock and redesign
their 'prototype'
John Mmcemoyer
1
ii
Mx> recorded both Helmet al
bums) to produce So what?
That doesn't make John B 's lyr
ics any less stupid or the seven
songs on 1h»s EP any less formu
laic A clear-cut example of a
major-label feeding frenzy
gone sour
Marc Pthmsky
M F T f f [i^lR I • I T I 6
^Olllll <JriltUl Ollll
Rust
flusf/Atlantic
Maybe I’m missing some
thing here, but Rust seems like
an all-too-obvious attempt to
create a major-label Helmet
These guys are friends with Tod
and they got Wharton Tiers
Ffftfttn Minutes
Authentic Distortion Speed
and Hat* / Fifteen Mtnutes
1994
1 think It's funny when
people hand me things based
on the title alone. 'Give it to
John Hellsten to anything that
says rs hateful' Has anyone
out there ever bou^it a record
by the title done? I'm sure some
of you have Wei Fifteen Min
utes' idea of Authentic Distor
tion Speed and Hate doesn't
amount to much There isn't one
thing 'authentic' about this al
bum The 'distortion' is nothing
more than a lo-fi hum The
'speed"’ Where’ When some
one boasts about speed then
I want warp-drive You dig’
How can you have 'hate' when
you're singing about the 'Archi
tects of Love*’ Interesting....
Fifteen Minutes make a big
deal about their supposed
style The liner notes go some
thing like this: 'real drums and
red guitars, no keyboards, syn
thesizers or drum machines,
just authentic distorti ..* You
get my drift An extremely
weak release that makes me
wonder if they have a lot of
friends that constantly tell them
they're awesome. I have a bod
feeling this band will get
signed. Remember, you've
been warned Ic/o Terry Mon
day. 1915 Broad Ripple Ave.
Indionapdis. IN 46220)
John Mincemoyer
VI . VI/ II
South Control Cartel
N'Gatz We Truss /G WX.
Records / Def Jam West / Rush
Associated Labels / Chaos
Okay, another 'hard bit of
reality' from the streets of South
Central Los Angeles Wait
Wasn't that N.WA's turf Sure
hough But for the sake of ar
gument. imagine this scenario:
Four hardcore brothers
from the hardcore gang set get
together with two hordcore
brothers from the hordcore
gang set that QJ They have big
guns, big dfcks like wood, pimp
big-posteriored hos. drive big,
bouncing Impdas. gang bang
big time and sometimes slang
big amounts of cdne The four
brothers, with names like
Havoc. Prodele. Harikk and L.V,
can rap and the other two
brothers. Grlpp and Kaos #1.
can scratch Whdlah! Instant
rap record
G W K stands for Gangstas
With Knowledge (‘And you
betta get outta here fore I
smoke ya muthafucka'). and
these brothers are knowledge
able of the streets, the warfare
how to drive-by. the lifestyle,
etc . but that's where it ends.
Their rhyme style is tight as heU.
they work well together and off
of one another, so thaf s a plus,
but they leave little to the
imagination
At times it's frenetic like
Moch-10 gunfire, and some
times it evokes the chronic-
mellow nature of Snoop Dogg
The beats are fat like most rap
records, ond the samples are
done tastefuly and at a mini
mum. which is one of the high
points. Unfortunately, though.
South Centrd Cartel runs the
unoriginal gamut, run too
many times
John Mincemoyer
Sausage
Piddles Are Abound Tonight
/Inter scope
Sausage was an early in
carnation of Primus, and now
it looks like Les Oaypod. dong
with Todd Huth and Jay Lane,
will be touring in support of the
Riddles CD release (on
Clay pod's Prawn Song label)
Essentially, this is a bit darker
and has fewer song hooks
than Primus typically does,
though any given song here
would fit nicely on a Primus re
lease In fact, guitarist Huth is
credited with co-writing five
songs on Frizzle Fry and two on
Sating the Seas of Cheese Of
the songs on Rtddhs. only "The
Toys Are Winding Down' has
been released before tit's died
here as simply os Tbyz 1988")
Though Riddles is enjoyable
enough, the songs are just not
structured ina way that I could
sink my teeth Into Only "Tem
porary Phase' is memorable m
the least, and once TVe heard
'Caution Should Be Used While
Driving A Motor Vehicle or Op
erating Machinery.' I really
don't care to hear it again
Riddles Are Abound Tonight is
enjoyable as a record, but ba-
stcdly dl this bols down to the
question of 'How much Primus
is too much?"
Marc PHvmsky
/
The powerful and catchy 'Pink
Fog Assertion' could be their
'Incense and Peppermint'
(Strawberry Alarm dock), noth
ing more, nothing less There is
nothing else positively note
worthy on this album Ideas
seem to fall by the wayside, un
developed Excluding the
single, the songs go on too
long with aimless, non-melodic
guitar solos The lyrics wonder
and, unfortunately, seem in
spired by Neil Young, but with
out the life experience to have
them be soulful rather than
learned I'm sorry, but I think
they were given a record ded
too soon (Like most other new
bands .J
Get a kick out of 'Pink Fog
Assertion' on 99X while you
can. I predict it's the only song
you ! hear from them ever
Diane Muter
rank Soulhat with bands like
Widespread Panic and Blues
traveler
"Psychological Bone’ and
‘Preacher Man' have some
what more of a Double
Trouble/Arc Angels, Texas-
bluesy feel And'Bonec rusher*
and' 15 More Miles' sound ol-
most downright heavy metal
Man. HI bet they make one heU
of a cover band.
Paul Proda
IMF a
r |
ik ^ fmm
ml
Morning Glories
Morning Glories / Cargo
Records
One-Hit Wonder With the
alternative-mainstream thing
happening, the odult-alter no-
tive-radio-thing. it seems a
trend that record companies
are shelling out sheckles to
new groups to release CDs
with nothing else but one good
song, the hit alternative single
Soulhat
Good to be Gone / Epic
Soulhat These guys are all
very competent musicians
They play well together and
are an excellent live bond... if
you’re into those eternal jam
things They're from Austin and
are quite well respected by
their . peers throughout
groovedom But when you get
down to it. they really aren’t
any different from all those
other bands that have been
HORDEing their way around
the country for the past several
summers
Good to be Gone (Epic),
their motor label debut, is not
on altogether unlistenable al
bum The music does vary
from song to song and many
different styles ore incorpo
rated throughout 'Big Nose"
and 'Emugga' ore character
istic songs that undeniably
u h - +
Anna Nausaa
Am I Annoying Yet
/Sound of the Sea
Cleveland. Ohio's. Ann
Marie Kovach took her
'name' from the Edgar Allen
Poe poem "For Annie' The al
bum title comes from her
unluckiness in dating, and
hence the entire album is
filled with Kovoch's/Nausea s
written soliloquies about love
in the '90s
I met Anna in Austin, and
she was nothing like I had ex
pected She was a wispy
thing, frogile petite, whereas
somehow I expected a bom
bastic. brawny person in her
place Perhaps the character
of Nausea is her strength,
and therein lies the enigma of
her music At times her voice
is lilting, powerful and at
other times trails on the tails
of Ms Merchant and others
that strive for that desperate
intensity and emotional level
in the voice that, if done right,
can send shivers down your
spine There are a few shakes
here and there, but overall
this is a sign there s some
thing happening in Cleveland
— they're |ust not sure yet
what musical form it will take
(Sound of the Sea. P 0 Box
18078. Cleveland. OH 44118)
Hillary Meister
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