Assessment
Posted January 3, 2006
I met the founding members of Negativehate probably around ten years ago, through those circumstances that occur in a small community where there are many bands and musicians shopping in the same stores, attending the same schools, and fucking the same girls. Inevitably, youre going to hear of anyone who is doing something noteworthy. at first listen, the early demo cassette I was given by Chuck Scandura (vocals, guitar) was a difficult listen for me. It had elements that I could definitely appreciate, electronic mayhem intermingled with metal aggression, and the sense that something profound was being touched upon. But it was just so cacophonous and chaotic, some of it made me wince with how poorly executed it had been, and yet I couldn't stop listening to it.The band has been through many many incarnations and lineup changes in the time Ive known them, the two core founding members, Scandura and bassist/vocalist Keith Ranalli, have changed their respective roles; each one taking the helm at different epochs in the bands career, with varying results. The band has been together for over a decade and yet here they arrive with their third self-released album ANNABELLE THE CANNIBAL, a new day has dawned for the band, and for some its as if a giant black caterpillar slumbered for centuries and emerged as a white rabbit. Gone are the far-reaching washes of ambient noise, booming electronics drums, and experiments in multiple processed vocal overdubs. The bands aborted previous album, MAKE MUSIC NOT CHILDREN was just the opposite, a fleshy battleground of industrial noise infubulated by steel threads of masterful guitarwork. The addition of drummer/frontman Jon Karel and guyitarist Steve Koller has transformed Negativehate into a whole other creature, and yet for all the comparisons and contrasts, somewhere in there we know the true heart of this band is still bleating out the rhythm of its twisted beginnings.ANNABELLE THE CANNIBAL can best be described as a grindcore album gone awry, its some kind of bizarre epic poem built of post-hardcore, mathcore and whatever else the kids are digging nowadays, Karels drums are almost incomprehensibly skillful, his annoying childish voice works us into a frenzy so that his pedantic musings become a mirror of our own need for soul-bearing disclosure. Chuck Scanduras voice has moved into a supportive role since his days as the Justin Broadrick to Ranallis Benny Green, and Keith himself seems to have stepped back from the microphone completely, though his thunderous bass is still crushing skulls and underlining everything Koller and Scandura can dish out. Sound designer/percussionist Dmitri Benziger had a lions share of his inbetweens removed during the mastering process, but the fact is the album flows far better with the pieces that he constructed.The album starts off with UP MAN GIVING THE OTHER JUGGER, a brilliant electronic piece constructed by Scandura which almost immediately segues into EAGLE SHAPED INDIAN BOY, an effectively bombastic rant, which is unfortunately cramped by poor mastering. In spite of numerous attempts to remedy this situation, the albums intro and outro remain its most crisp pieces, not surprising considering the fact that they were recorded separate from the rest of the material. BATTLESHIPS is up next, which features fantastic segments of brutal sonic precision and one of the coolest moments for Scanduras vocals. Rounding out the first chapter of the album is HER CIGARETTE LIPSTICK TRASHTALK MOUTH, clearly an ode to members of the fairer sex, and one of the first tracks completed by the current incarnation of Negativehate, performed live during their 2003 tour. The albums title track is beyond a doubt one of their finest moments, ANNABELLE THE CANNIBAL builds into a headstomping crescendo which is somewhat reminiscent of orgasm, and even ends with a gentle moment of afterglow before they take us up into their rough leathery hands again for some death metal musingswith MILK FECES TRAP, confounding with its weird time signatures and gutteral growls. Theres no reprieve from this dementia as we enter a small cearing at the mouth of hell just in time for THERES A FIVE DOLLAR COVER AT THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH, which was the piece Negativehate closed their set with during the aforementioned tour. A reversion/mutation of the introductory track takes us out of the quagmire and we arrive with a new perception of music.Definitely interesting and not easily compared to a whole lot that Ive heard, Negativehate may be lacking in many areas, but talent is not one of them, and ANNABELLE THE CANNIBAL may very well be the ferry that can carry them to greener pastures.
-Leech
