I was going to make some smart ass, racially tinged comment about this band name, but people get so sensitive about race and religion that I figured I'd just save myself some grief. Such is the sad, sad state of the world when we have to worry about all the whiny pee pants people out there who have to look for something to cry about and be offended by. Not that I haven't given those people some ammunition in the past, but I thought I'd take a review off this time. But feel free to make whatever offensive, racially or religiously charged comment you want, and email it to me if its really good.
Black Jesus hails from Australia. I'm really thankful that some truly amazing metal bands have been coming out of the land of Oz because they still have a lot to make up for, what with cursing us with that steaming pile of shit known as Men At Work for most of the 80's. Now these guys, not only being provocateurs with their band name, but these guys bring it. They have a lovely melding of thrash, grind, and death metal and they make it work really well. This is just some brutal, ass kicking music that you are gonna love, love, love.
This is actually a demo that got released by the band originally in 2010. Then it came out as a CD, and then Hell's Headbangers put it out on vinyl, which is when it finally came to my attention. So if you're a young band out there, have a little patience, let your music get out there and let it get released in as many formats as possible. The music has been around for a while, and I don't know if they've put out anything else since this, but this is a pretty damn good start. There are 8 tracks on offer here, none of them very long. They get straight to the point and then on to the next one. I love me some doom and black metal where the songs can routinely be 8 or 10 minutes long, but there's is something really great about these songs that blast you and then they're done.
These are some well written songs. They move through riffs and tempo changes but nothing feels like it is lurching or that there are stops and starts that interrupt the flow. These are mostly fast, up tempo songs but they know when to bring it down to the mid tempo when the time is right. Album closer “Atrocity Generator”, which is just an awesome song title and if you look at the world around us it is totally conceivable that such a thing exists, is a perfect example of how this bands plays with tempos and does it well. And then there are the tracks that just rage from start to finish. My personal favorites are the 3rd and 4th tracks, “The Devouring” and “Dead In Their Tracks”, respectively. But that description fits most of the songs on this album. There is nothing on this release that is going to change the game of metal, but if you like your music well played at a fast and furious pace, then you are going to dig this one.
I know that people will listen to metal and each take something different from it, but I hear a mostly thrash record when I listen to this. The first song, “Cycles Of Fear”, is probably the most grindy song on the album, and there are definitely flourishes of death metal, but all in all its a very solid effort from a band that seems to have figured out their own unique take on metal. And trust me, with all the metal I listen to, finding a band that is a bit unique is quite a find indeed. I would go see these guys live if they ever get to the States, which is about the highest praise I can give them.
- ODIN