January 27 2003

The Hummers
Save the Jets
Sisyphus 2002
The Hummers are a

Winnipeg-based _ electronic-
funk group that has been
around for six years. Due to a
complete lack of marketing
motivation, almost no one out-
side of Winnipeg has heard of
them until now. Their most
recent album, “Save the Jets”
is their first album with songs
that actually have names, and
the album is not called “Listen”
in some foreign language.
“Save the Jets” starts out
with fun, funky bass lines, and

promises to be a groovy trip:

through _seventies-inspired
ambient music. Unfortunately,
the CD doesn’t quite deliver
that trip, since it mellows down
quite quickly after the second
track. The disc contains inter-
esting beats, and doesn't load
up the tracks with heavy layers
of sound, or lyrics. If you are
looking for something different
from everything on the radio
right now, this album is an
interesting departure from
the norm. Just don’t expect an
album that will make you want
to get up and get your groove
on.
-Dana
3.5 stars

Big Shiny Tunes 7
Various Artists
Universal Music 2002

The arrival of Big Shiny
Tunes 7 is accompanied by a
lot of advertising and hoopla.
Big Shiny tunes name has
graced an annual release for a
number of years. Traditionally
the cd features the most
played artists of the year. This
year’s release is no exception.
The compilation features
songs that have assaulted
many an ear over and over
and over. Nickleback, P.O.D,
Coldplay and The Vines are
just a few of the notable
groups in the collection.
Honestly these songs have
been played way too much by
mainstream radio. The cd may
be worth picking up if you
spent all of 2002 recovering
from a huge new years bash
and somehow missed all of the
pop music between then and
now.

-Natalie

1.5 stars

Pig
Genuine American Monster
Metropolis 1999

Pig's latest release, finally

getting North American
release last fall, is yet another
industrial staple for those who
listen to industrial. The found-
ing force of Pig, Raymond
Watts, has worked with almost
everyone in the field whether it
be Trent Reznor, Einsturzende
Neubauten, Feotus, Psychic
TV, or KMFDM. Pig's first
release was in 1988 and has
released 5 albums. since,
including Genuine American
Monster. The best way to
explain this latest effort is to

Music Reviews

compare it to KMFDM.
Imagine KMFDM, if you are
familiar with their work, and
then imagine it as being far
more sophisticated and
avande garde. The third track,
“Salambo,” is an_ industrial
piece structured around Lain
beats. Some of the pieces are
very upbeat with distorted gui-
tars and heavy sequenced
drums, while others are more
somber, almost gothic. If you
like industrial, or are looking
for a place to start, | would rec-
ommend this album highly.
-Destrudo

4 stars.

Saliva
Back Into Your System
Island Def Jam Music 2002

Have you heard that song
“Hero” on the radio? Wait, stu-
pid question...of COURSE
you’ve heard it. It’s been
everywhere. You can’t go any-
where on the face of the Earth
and not hear that song on the
radio.

The reason | bring this up is
that Josey Scott, the guy who
did “Hero” with Chad Kroeger,
is the frontman for Saliva. “Oh
no!” | said when | found this
out, “another Nickleback clone
band discovered by Chad
Kroeger! | fear for my life!’ But
Saliva rose above my expec-
tions, at least a little. Unlike,
for example, Default, Saliva
tries on occasion to experi-
ment with their sound. | could
actually listen to this CD from
beginning to end without
falling asleep from the sheer
monotony of repetitive chord
progressions. Saliva is primar-
ily a heavy four-chord-progres-
sion band, just like their con-

temporaries Nickleback and
Default (etc.), but at least now
and then they try something
different to keep the audi-
ence’s (and, I'll wager, their
OWN) interest.

| halfway enjoyed this CD.
As long as you're not looking
for something very thoughtful
and experimental, Saliva’s
“Back Into Your System” isn’t a
bad album.

-Josh

3 Stars

STH. °PING.
VONG LA.

Strapping Young Lad
Century Media 2003

lt has been said that
Strapping Young Lad sound
like the end of the world. The
last time the apocalypse
released a studio album was in
1997 with “City” followed in ‘98
with the release of “No Sleep
‘Til Bedtime,” a live album with
two studio tracks on it.
Everyone assumed that the
Four Horseman of Metal
(Devin, Jed, Byron, and Gene)
were never going to return as it
seemed that the anger had
gone out of Devin. However,
the events of 9/11 spurred the
horseman back into the studio
and they have declared war on
everything outside of them-
selves.

This album soars through
many different genres of
metal, all of them heavy and
abrasive, with pure, unadulter-
ated, immature anger. This
album differs from other SYL
albums because on the other
studio albums, Devin was the
primary songwriter, whereas,
on this album each member
had a hand in the writing
process. It is very raw and
stripped down for Devin

Over The Edge Page 8

because he has spent the past
5 years moving in the direction
of more production, more sub-
tlety. Do not be fooled. This
album takes other metal
albums for a ride and leaves
them broken, but it still keeps
certain degrees of Devin’s
tongue in cheek attitude (listen
for the cricket on track 9). |
mean, it is immature to be
angry all the time, and he real-
izes that, so why not be imma-
ture in other ways while being
angry? Seriously, if you liked
SYLs other work, you will like
this, and if you don’t like
Strapping Young Lad, then you
ain't poo.
-Destrudo

4 and a billion stars.

Behemoth

Zos Kia Cultus

(Here and Beyond)
Olympic Recordings 2003

Behemoth have a long histo-
ry for being musically adapt-
able. Previous efforts have
included acoustic guitars,
female vocals, and have dab-
bled much more heavily into
the black metal side of heavy
music. Zos Kia Cultus, howev-
er does none of those things,
instead it draws heaviest from
death metal, but is really a
combination of many aspects
of the metal we know and love,
including the occasional indus-
trial style sample blended in
for color (see Hekaw 718 for
an example) which is some-
thing | really like.

Behemoth are not overly
speedy, but fast and technical,
with aggressive guitars and
bass layer over the top, com-
bined with lead singer Nergal’s
(yes, that is his name) vocals