For Those About to Squawk: Waldo’s Pecks of the Week

Well, guys, it’s that time again, as I’m home from my whirlwind press tour, and boy are my wings tired. Here’s all the new releases that are fit (or not) to print.

Fear Factory are releasing Genexus, their first on Nuclear Blast. What can really be said about FF that hasn’t been said before? I will say that the first thing that sticks out is part of the backstory: “a future where machines are human and humans are machines,” which is almost laughable. But I digress. What about the record, you ask. Mike Heller does a remarkable job, but the overall drum sound misses the mark of a live drummer. Burton C. Bell’s bark is rhythmic, and seems to be intentionally chanty to get that singalong quality injected into some of these tracks. This is heavy, but a scooped-out sort of heavy, and a lot of the low end seems missing. I’m not really a fan of these guys, but if you are, you won’t be disappointed. This is most definitely a Fear Factory record. 6 Fucking Pecks

The doom masters Pentagram swing at us with Curious Volume, and it’s a swing and a miss. First, never judge a record by its cover, but this mechanic crow head kinda lets you know what’s inside here, and what’s inside here is watered-down dad butt rock. The riffs are decent and are what should be expected. Overall, the production is clear, but seems a little modern for this type of sound, and the rest of the record just comes off feeling uninspired. Just kinda like a “Hey guys, we need a record out, so let’s do one.” And check out the goofy chorus on “Misunderstood.” Apparently this is supposed to be a throwback kinda street punk that reflects Liebling’s love of bands like the Dead Boys; it does not. This needs some dentures or something because it’s certainly lacking teeth. 4 Fucking Pecks

Gnaw Their Tongues is releasing Abyss of Longing Throats, and while I’m not crazy about their (his) whole catalog, I’m beaking into this. This is dense and heavy. A sort of black metal (ish) soundscape that paints a picture of the forthcoming apocalypse. For those of you that don’t know, GTT is like a sort of a heavy ambient (mostly) noise chaos ear-fuckery that Isn’t for everyone, and should be for no one. Audio nihilism at its finest. Imagine the sound of a thousand instruments played at once, all playing a different song to herald Ragnarok. It’s kinda like that. 8 Fucking Pecks