As halloween approaches, what better time to review this record? Pitch Black are, surprisingly, a disturbingly dark and gloomy punk rock band, with influences and comparisons set firmly in the Nerve Agents and TSOL camp. No doubt they will be mentioned in the same breathe as AFI by numerous people, but luckily they don’t even borrow, never mind steal, from Mr Havok and his cohorts. Their sound is a familiar yet refreshing one.
In terms of artwork and lyrical subject matter, comedy pseudo-goth stylings are in order. The cover art is bizarre and almost humorous, yet endearing and Kevin Cross’ snarling, spitting vocals stop the lyrics from sounding pretentious and laughable. Even when he sputters such words as ‘It’s All Hallows Eve, I wanna watch you scream, I wanna watch you bleed’ at the end of ‘The Bride’, the normal reactions of bewilderment and mirth are absent as Cross sounds so angry and sincere. So many vocalists would fail to pull this kind of content off, but in this case, it works wonderfully.
Music wise, there is little new ground to be trodden, but this is not a problem. How many bands can you say are truly original these days? Very few, and these guys are not one of them. However, what they do they do extremely well. Songs such as opener ‘The Wrath’ are blessed with a blistering pace, furious drumming, chugging, yet far from sluggish guitar work and Cross’ marvellous larynx making for an excellent icebreaker.
The rest of the record is a mixed bag, while still sticking to the familiar old school skate punk sound prominent throughout. ‘Rock and Roll Girl’ calls on the Dead Kennedys, ‘Doctors Orders’ brings to mind The Distillers and ‘Half Empty’ is a soaring number that elicits memories of early Good Riddance, if Bella Lugosi took over vocal duties. While hardly innovative, Pitch Black are certainly an emotive and passionate band.
On the flipside, the afore mentioned ‘The Bride’ takes a good two minutes to get going, and would have much more of an effect if a few minutes were shaved off the playing time, and the crazed Frankenstein like lyrical stylings on ‘Scientific Method’ are possibly a fright too far. Luckily, these nuances do not detract from the overall quality of this debut album.
This is a solid, powerful little collection and shows promise for the future. With a live show that borders on the theatrics of Kiss and Rammstein, ready made credibility from the inclusion of Kevin Cross and an interesting slant that has only really been revisited by AFI without straying into Psychobilly territory, Pitch Black have a lot going for them. If you can get past the initial misgivings about the creepy subject matter and bizarre, yet beautifully crafted imagery surrounding the band, then you are certainly in for a treat.
Ross