Plague Bringer's Greg Ratajczak and Josh Rosenthal have intrigued me since the day I popped this CD into my player for the first time. Ratajczak is known for his engineering work and guitar playing, most notably on Modest Mouse's Epic Records debut, The Moon and Antarctica. Rosenthal is a bona fide poet of the perverse. Together they form the grind powerhouse that is Chicago's Plague Bringer. Equal parts Ministry and Pig Destroyer, these guys don't make any excuses for playing incredibly catchy techno-grind. As the band's slogan advertises, Plague Bringer's debut album has "more hooks than a slaughterhouse." With the whole thing brought together by great production (courtesy of Ratajczak, of course) and mastered by grind genius Scott Hull (Pig Destroyer, Agoraphobic Nosebleed), it's no surprise that Plague Bringer's self-released debut is being re-released by Chicago's premier talent scouts, Seventh Rule Recordings.
Opening with the instantly memorable "Burn Ward Whore," Plague Bringer's debut album rarely lets up and never lets down. "No Such Nothing" features densely layered group vocals over some of the disc's best riffing. The album's seven tracks range between two and six minutes and their length definitely helps, as Ratajczak's songwriting lends itself to more fleshed out compositions. Such is the case with "Impaled Faith," the disc's dramatic closing track, which after a cringe-inducing spoken word start, will win over any listener not previously convinced. Strong currents of 90's industrial run throughout the record, both in the songwriting and in the production, and nowhere are they more evident than on this final track.
There might be a handful of questionable performance choices (a riff towards the end of the first track springs to mind) and certain elements of the production might not rub everyone the right way, but overall, this record was nothing but fun for me. The lyrics, though difficult to make out, are fantastic and provide a good read while listening. Also, while the artwork for the album might not be anything particularly amazing in concept, its execution is excellent and definitely caught my eye right away with its clever use of transparent text.
Bottom Line: It's rewarding to see talent recognized in up-and-coming bands and I honestly can't wait to see this record re-released on Seventh Rule. Plague Bringer play a recognizable style of metal with a surprising, unique twist. As The Ghosts Collect, The Corpses Rest is one of the best self-released records I've heard in a long time and will undoubtedly catch on with fans of grind/death metal. Keep an eye out for these guys. |
