Aghast View, "Carcinopest"

Fuck, this thing is a mess of cliches. We'll address them in point form to keep the review from going too far off course.

1. Repetitive synth-bass lines swiped from Nitzer Ebb.

2. Repetitive aggro percussion that copies but lacks the intensity of :wumpscut:.

3. Repetitive samples from the usual sources: "Natural Born Killers", etc.

4. Cover art featuring mutant fetuses with bio-mechanic background.

5. Repetitive embarrassing lyrics trading in -

Fuck. I can't go on. There's just nothing rewarding about this disc. It sounds exactly like what it is: a few whippersnappers paying homage to their heroes (Puppy, :wumpscut:, FLA) and even a few they probably shouldn't bother with (Leather Strip spring to mind) and managing to completely avoid whatever it was about their influences that made them influential in the first place. For example: memorable songs. Doing something new or interesting with the template of drum-machines, acid-distorted vocals, bleepy synths and rhythm guitar power-chords buried in the mix. Sounding passionate. I swear to god, the only thing remotely original about this disc is the curved and elegant font the liner notes are written in, which is more suited to a Projekt release than a Gashed one...

I've heard that their second album is a helluva lot better than this debut, and there's really no place for Aghast View to go but up from here. Arf. I'm seriously annoyed by the fact that I had to listen to this again in order to review it. I mean, you can't even ignore the thing! It just irritates you, clears the dancefloor, makes you want to smack the DJ for playing it, and slap "Rabies" on to remind yourself that even the most straightforward approaches to industrial can work out beautifully in the hands of masters. That's it, this piece of crap's getting traded in. I'm only midway through the sixth track and I can't go on any further. Damn good thing Alien Sex Fiend's up next...

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