THE FUCKING WRATH (Valley Of The Serpent's Soul) LP/CD
Hm, that album leaves me absolutely cold. Maybe also because of the fact that these four guys desperately try to be mean and ugly. It starts with the silly photo on the promo sheet, where everyone has a gun in his hand. You're neither the MC5 nor an outlaw motorcycle gang. Even if I don't know you I can say that you're four nice and jolly fellows who pretend to be tough guys. Well, ok it's just a photo and the music is much more important. But what I said above also goes for the music.
Once again THE FUCKING WRATH would love to be so merciless and trend-eschewing, but basically they fit perfectly into current times where you find dozens of bands who play punk-based metal. And they almost all sound the same. The promo sheet says: "An amalgam of Black Flag, Melvins, Discharge and old Metallica." That sounds promising, and yet reality looks rather different. There is no Black Flag, and there is no Melvins. These bands had (or have) a very individual sound, but THE FUCKING WRATH have no own personality. And what should they have in common with the mighty Discharge? Perhaps the speed in a few moments but nothing more.
What I found especially annoying is the vocal style of guitarist Craig Kasamis. It was rather obvious that he's trying to be a bad-ass motherfucker. Unfortunately, he doesn't sounds very trustworthy. And even if - I don't like his vocals. Sometimes THE FUCKING WRATH tries to loosen up their predictable sonic brew with a bit of 1970's heavy rock and classic heavy metal. In fact, that is not a fundamentally bad idea. Nevertheless the album doesn't become more interesting. Now, enough written about this record. It's time to listen to some excellent music such as Crucifix or Ron Asheton's New Order.
(KK)