Dallas-based metal band Rivethead has long been a strong presence in the local metal scene, but with their newest album, The 13th Step,
they've produced a truly impressive album that should be a fixture in
the collection of any self-respecting fan of industrial metal.
Combining the best elements from NIN, Rammstein, and a plethora of other powerful industrial bands --as well as the Hammer of Thor himself-- Rivethead has made an amazingly polished album for an unsigned band.
The 13th Step was produced at the band's own expense at Dallas' fine Nomad Studios,
and the remarkable sound quality is evident from the first few seconds
in. Too many metal bands rely on volume and distortion to cover their
less-than-stellar musicianship, but thankfully Nomad is able to squeeze
out a surprising amount of sound from just four musicians, while giving
it great clarity at the same time. Remember the last time you heard a
metal CD in which you could understand all the lyrics? If you're judging an album on sound quality and tight musicianship, this record is already way ahead of the curve.
The
music itself is phenomenal. Never relying too long on the
often-repetitive industrial electronic hooks and beats, Rivethead
constantly changes things up in each and every one of the fourteen
tracks on the album, powerfully mixing viciously pounding drum and bass
with the authentic dark soul industrial metal needs.
From the
start, this is one hell of an album: the first track on the album,
'It', is thunderously heavy industrial metal, gently assaulting the ear
with pounding, driving bass/drum beats and lead singer Steve Page's
scratchy-voiced singing. Rivethead follows up the opener with 'Stirring
It Up' --again with the heavy stuff, including plenty of electronic
sound effects layered underneath a barrage of hammer-metal, before
wrapping it up with a chilling, darkly electronic finale.
They follow that with the Rammstein-esque (early Rammstein, before they went all California)
'Explosive': heavy bass and drums combined with haunting keyboard (also
played by Page), again with the scratchy vocals over it all. The song
is brilliantly produced and orchestrated, and if you haven't realized
the sheer musicianship of guitarist Kevin Kerr, bassist Derek James and
drummer Mark Halford by this point, you're listening to a different
album.
'Explosive' is followed by yet another impressive display of Zombie-metal, 'I Knock You Down', a song which seems tailor-made to be played at Dallas Stars games,
UFC bouts or generally anywhere where ass is about to be kicked and
names about to be taken. Someone ought to tell Jere Lehtinen or Kimbo Slice about this track, so they can finally find that long-sought-after theme music.
After
getting all worked up from the opening four songs, the next two stand
out more than any others on the album. Song 5, 'Becoming', is a Trent
Reznor-inspired slow and ponderous ballad, which picks up halfway
through but is still far more subdued than the previous songs on the
album. To be honest, I didn't care for it the first 2-3 times I
listened to it, but it does grow on you. 'Becoming' is probably the closest Rivethead comes on this album to Radio-Friendly Heavy Pop.
The
following song, 'In This World Without You', is even slower, an
out-of-character lost-love ballad. When I found out it was about
bassist Derek James' actual personal loss, I felt like a jerk for not
liking it -- no doubt when Rivethead plays it live, there's probably
not a dry eye in the house-- but there's nothing trickier than a metal
band making a successful ballad. For every 'Nothing Else Matters',
there's a million 'When the Children Cry': at any rate, the song is not a bad one, but it does stand apart from the rest of the album, and adds a little gravitas to the record.
The
album gets right back into the good stuff with 'Not My Time', a
brilliant piece mixing heavy metal with an amazingly catchy Middle
Eastern-style guitar and drum hook. Folk metal isn't something you
commonly hear from bands in the U.S., despite its ancient power and
proven effectiveness. Great music is both felt and heard, and 'Not My
Time' is one of the best songs on the album for just this reason.
Showing off their diversity of musicianship, Rivethead jumps from folk-metal and squarely back into KMFDM/Rammstein
territory with the next two songs, 'Never' and 'Fear Me'. Both combine
driving industrial metal with soaring vocals, and 'Fear Me', in
particular, seems cut-and-ready for massive radio airplay. The fact
that this band is getting play on XM and Sirius Satellite Radio, but
not been signed by a major label, speaks volumes as to why the record
industry is in so much trouble both artisitically and financially.
Rivethead
changes it up once again with song 10, 'Electrik', which is straight-up
industrial disco dance metal, super-catchy and right up there with
anything you'll hear at a Marilyn Manson concert.
The band once again changes it up with the following song, 'My
Discord', which is excellent industrial metal with piano thrown over it
for haunting gothic effect.
The single best song of the album, in my usually untrustworthy opinion,
is the twelfth song on the album, 'Inside'. The song sways drunkenly
between hyperactive and heavy, and is pleasantly punctuated by a
engagingly robotic female vocal chorus. 'Inside' leads directly into
the title track on the album, which is soaked in heavy guitar riffs and
dripping with electronica, with even more Reznor-esque
piano-and-melancholic-vocals interludes to bring the listener in.
The
album wraps up with 'Water', which closes out the album with even more
Eastern-style guitar picking, this time woven around a (hilarious)
baritone voice-over explaining the geopolitical and foreign policy
implications of water. Page once again does a great vocal bit in the
choruses of the song, while the rest of the band performs beautifully.
The 13th Step
is, without question, a monumental album, arguably the equal of any
other record written and produced by the Dallas metal scene since Pantera
imploded. Rivethead's aggressive-yet-beautiful brand of industrial
metal is impressive. And their diversity of musical styles --while
always remaining true to their heavy metal roots-- hopefully ensures
that the band's distinctive sound will never get stale and predictable.