Skrew - Angel Seed XXIII (1997)Release ID: 7148
Skrew, the band led by Adam Grossman, took a decade off from their career, reforming in 2009 and having a new album released 5 years later. The temporary split-up was due to lack of label support as a result of poor attention for this album Angel Seed XXIII. And I can understand that...
There are some things in this album that have skrewed with fans (pun somewhat intended). The earlier guitar attack is reduced, adding a bit more industrial in the industrial metal. And while the earlier riffing is still around, it has slowed down from the earlier thrash. It sounds a little closer to groove metal or, dare I say, nu metal. So there aren't as many sharps as there are dulls in the guitarwork.
Opening the album is the bumpy groove track "Open Up". Then we have the dark sludgy "Sea Man". It rolls through reminding some of Soulstorm, with nothing monotonous compared to some of the other tracks. Things get more dynamic in the loud "Seventh Eye".
It leads to the next track "King of the Hole" which tries to make some harmonic aggression but ends up becoming a poor Pantera rip-off. The band's ravaging side is toned down for the industrial ballad "Porcelain". Balancing things out again by galloping through dynamics is "Kosmo's Seed". Then we have more of the slow sludge in "Sputnik", great for a motorcycle ride in the night.
The KMFDM EDM usage in "Angel Suck" is a little too much. I'm annoyed by the machinery used in "Horsey (Man)" in their attempt to sound like Godflesh. "Slip" is a slip into an acoustic sound that sounds too f***ing dull for me. After some silence and a couple outtakes, "Helter Skelter" begins. A kick-A industrial metal cover of a Beatles classic!
Angel Seed XXIII was, similarly to a Metallica song from the same year that uses the same drop D-flat tuning as the majority of this album, a BAD SEED for many listeners. After the band's decade-long split, they would return 5 years after reforming with Universal Immolation, an album that shows a more deathly sound while maintaining the industrial roots. But for now, Angel Seed XXIII is a bittersweet taste of their industrial metal sound gone less thrashy. A decent album, yet not a total winner....
Favorites: "Sea Man", "Seventh Eye", "Kosmo's Seed", "Sputnik", "Helter Skelter"
