By Monk
I must admit that when I first saw the title of this album, I thought it was an “best of…”/”greatest hits…” type collection, albeit from a band with whom I was totally unfamiliar. But, showing that you should never judge an album by its title, nothing could be further from the truth, as, despite its implication, this is merely the third studio album from FSB, with the name being a cheeky nod to the duo’s covers album from last year, which saw them re-interpret their favourite tunes by the likes of Death Grips, The Beatles and Chvrches.
Whether or not any of the ten tracks here will become “classics” in their own right is obviously impossible to tell at this stage; what they are is an eclectic collection that veers from industrial Depeche Mode-meets-Ministry dissonant industrialism through heavy stoner doom vibrations to dense moments of psychedelic meandering through the Burroughs-esque imaginations of its creators. As the duo – vocalist/guitarist Kirk Witt and drummer Matt Vallarino – themselves admit, this is an album that sees them disappearing down “whatever weird rabbit holes presented themselves” during the recording process.
However, they also apparently set a rule that there “had to be a memorable melody to each and every track”: to be honest, it is a struggle to find such an element, as the clashing soundscapes crash into and off each other with gay abandon, with darkly gothic vocals and strangely timed orchestral passages counteracting and counterpointing lengthy passages of sheer, overwhelming noise. It is often also hard to tell where one track finishes and the next begins, as they amalgamate and merge into each other like one long, continuous passage of Stockhausen-style controlled anarchy.
The appeal of ‘Classics’ will be no doubt enhanced, in the view of many fans, by the fact that it is produced by Devin Townsend. And, it has to be admitted that the production is superb: precise and rich, drawing out the density of the soundscapes to full effect. The end result is definitely one which will appeal to fans of the more extreme and darker end of the gothic/industrial/noise metal spectrum.
- ‘Classics’ is out now. You can get your copy HERE.
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