The Mechanical Hand,
HORSE The BandHORSE the band
Track 6 - Octopus on Fire; 2:25. I have to say that it was then that it hit me how good this record is. The sound seems to hop out of the speaker, bounce around the room taking in each wall via a visit to the NES and Game Boy stored in your cupboard. In fact, that single track transcends so many genres within the space of a couple of minutes I’m not sure I can do it justice via text alone.
In terms of overall sound, I think it’s best to class this as a little more varied than R. Borlax; the gaming take-offs are ever so slightly more obvious, the electronic breaks last longer and the melodies seem, bizarrely enough, to be influenced by indie/electronic bands. But, fret not, it is but a subsidising act to their trademark spazziness and in no way is this bereft of their fairly unique take on the hardcore scene. There are no obvious singles on this record, and certainly nothing that’s immediately declares itself as a successor to Cutsman in terms of inspiring crazy mock beatdowns at your local alt. club. Perhaps that’s because the synth totally dominates the guitar in this record, as opposed to them performing a duel for your ears as with the first record. It’s an interesting if less than bold direction to have taken from the first record.
An enviable quality of this record is to be so diverse and attention-grabbing that you never once want to reach for the skip button. There simply is not a single section where you’re left hanging or allowed to settle into any kind of listening pattern before a completely different wall of psychedelia throws you off at a tangent from wherever you were, but in an incredibly satisfying way.
Track 12 – Lord Gold Throneroom; opening. It is then HERE that it hits me that this record, as well as being class piece of music, is so damn hilarious. The porn moans in the intro give way to the kind of sound which got your heart beating as a ‘bonus stage’ type level in the platformers of your youth. QUICK! GRAB THE TAIL POWER-UP AND FLY TO THE CLOUDS FOR THE EXTRA COINS! Ahem. This has to go down as my favourite track on the album… and I haven’t even got to the fact that one of the lines screeched into your earhole is the simply incredible “Fill her with jewels covered in cum.” Disgusting, but bloody hilarious. I challenge you not to laugh. In fact, I challenge you again halfway through final track The Black Hole. This just gets better as it hurtles along.
In fact, this record can be seen as their response to the challenge posed by the first album. It’s a challenge they’ve definitely risen to and accomplished by supplying you with a smorgasbord of modern hardcore and all-round electronic goodness. The record itself can be summed up by the final 80 seconds of the final track: a beautiful piano outro… rudely interrupted by reviewing voices. It’s inspired. This won’t be leaving my CD drive for a while and it deserves to find its way into yours.
Combat Records
Spud
