Society 1
Exit Through Fear
Earache
Well, I’m surprised that Earache would put this record out, but that’s what is so great about life: all of the surprises, both pleasant and negative. To be honest, I’m really not sure what to make of Exit Through Fear, as it comes off as a metal record that was done on computers, which just seems wrong, in theory.
My first comparison would be to Marilyn Manson’s Antichrist Superstar. Regardless of what you think about Manson and his cronies, that record was particularly unique at the time of its release, as it combined metal and computers, but not in a Godflesh or Nine Inch Nails kind of way. This Society 1 record sounds pretty much like an updated and more metal version of Antichrist Superstar. Other than the addition of a lot of palm-muted guitar and some nu-metal stylistic moves, there’s not much difference.
I guess people should be into this record because lead singer Matt Zane is this really famous porn guy or something (he actually looks and acts just like Marilyn Manson, with about 10 more pounds of muscle). On just about every song, he does this really deep and quite ferocious growl / scream thing that, sadly, gets tiresome after the first couple of tracks. He does have the perfect look to be the next Manson or Peter Steele: long, straight black hair, pale skin, etc. Major label A & R guys take note!
The guitars sound exactly like the guitars on Mr. Manson’s “The Beautiful People,” and the drums sound authentic only about half of the time, which isn’t to say that they aren’t real (I wouldn’t be surprised either way). The instrumentation isn’t totally cheesy, but it’s so thin that I was bored within 10 minutes of this thirty-minute work of evil. I must admit that there’s something appealing about the songs on this record, but I really feel like I’ve heard it all before. Not terrible, not awesome, it’s the kind of album that’s just there.
Earache Records: http://www.earache.com/
