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Album Review
by SashaS
28-9-2004
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| 'Resident Evil: Apocalypse' soundtrack |
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Blues Explosion + Various: 'Damage’ + ‘Headbangers Ball 2’ + ‘Resident Evil: Apocalypse'
(Mute + Roadrunner)
Blues Explosion, 'Headbangers Ball 2', 'Resident Evil: Apocalypse'
Blues Explosion
‘Damage’
(Mute)
Jon Spencer’s dropped his name from the band’s moniker because “It has always been The Blues Explosion. It has never been a solo act.” ‘Damage’ is the first product of this revision and it is more controlled, spacier, in short - bluesier. The previous opuses tended to feel like incendiary devices but this time it is more lenient.
The seventh album from the New York trio provides less warped blues versions than the earlier discs and there is a number of guests: fellow NYC no-wave icon James Chance, the beatmastering Dan The Animator, rap-heavyweight Chuck D of Public Enemy on ‘Hot Gossip’ and that delightful songbird, Martina Topley Bird [formerly a Tricky collaborator) on ‘You Been My Baby’.
‘Mars A-Z’ may be our early fave cut but the damage is not as severe… But, ‘Damage’ done.
Whenever a new album by BE appears we have this absurd sense of - how has this band’s been so under-respected? There is only history that can rectify the massive blunder because they are bound to be a major source inspiration and one of the future’s main influences.
8/10
*
Various artists
‘Headbangers Ball Vol. 2’
(Roadrunner)
A double-disc compilation of Metal in 2004 is culled from the MTV programme and it contains the biggest names, as well as a second disc that offers some more obscure acts. Slipknot, Korn, Megadeth, Killswitch Engage, A Perfect Circle, Soulfly, DevilDriver, Fear Factory and Probot are represented among the 20 names.
Disc 2 offers Cradle of Filth, Satyricon, Blood Has Been Shed, Deicide, The Dillinger Escape Plan and Dimmu Borgir; they are not up-n-coming acts but certainly not as well known as the aforementioned lot of bands… It could be a journey of discovery of some other excitingly heavy music…
Anyway, 40 tracks here at a low price - it beats downloading, n’est pas, person iGen?
8/10
*
Various artists
‘Resident Evil: Apocalypse’
(Roadrunner)
Some of the ‘Headbangers’ names reappear on the soundtrack to ‘Resident Evil: Apocalypse’ sequel. Slipknot, A Perfect Circle, Killswitch Engage, DevilDriver, Cradle of Filth and Him are joined by less-heavy but doom-overloaded The Cure, Lacuna Coil, Rammstein, Rob Zombie…
There is also an acoustic version, ‘End Of The World’, by Cold, as well as a track by Massive Attack. Without having seen the film [boys, Milla Jovovich is back!], and if you are not adverse to genre-mixing, ‘Apocalypse’ is an interesting OST of incongruent nature.
It certainly beats wasting money on Marilyn Manson’s pathetic compilation.
8/10
SashaS
28-9-2004
The Blues Explosion’s ‘Damage’ is released 27 September 2004 by Mute
‘Headbanger’s Ball 2’ compilation and ‘Resident Evil: Apocalypse’ soundtrack are both available on Roadrunner
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