ILKER FROM REGEN MAGAZINE REVIEWS “THE BASTARD GODS” BY ANGELSPIT
AUG 05, 2023
Category: Industrial / Electropunk
Label: Black Pill Red Pill
Release Date: 2023-07-24
Author: Ilker Yücel (Ilker81x)
“Who are we mad at today?” This question seems to resonate in a world overwhelmed by constant strife and scandal, the interconnectivity of social media creating numerous echo chambers that ultimately dissipate into oppressive walls of audiovisual noise. Since the band’s inception, Angelspit has been confronting this overstimulation head on, crafting an electrified industrial/punk sound that has remained singularly identifiable. While this eleventh album does little to deviate from those tenets, “THE BASTARD GODS“ makes good on its promise of being the “most brutal” offering yet, due largely in part to a more streamlined incorporation of the particular elements of Dave Nato’s live drums and the Blaster Beam.
From the scratchy and metallic hits that introduce “The Greatest Trick,” the album’s percussive fury is readily apparent, offset by the melodic counterpoint of monotone verses and a harmonized chorus, the glassy electronics supplementing the discord quite effectively. Other tracks like “This Game is Stupid” and “Feed the Hungry Ghost” follow similar patterns of force, while the slower hip-hop stylings of “Jump For Joy” and “Art Imitates War” serve the anticorporate themes without losing the inherent catchiness of the vocal and electronic hooks. The same can be said of the somewhat trashy “Do the Spin” with the irony of the lyrics addressing the superficiality of the danceable disposability of the last several decades of pop being quite palpable, while “Possessed By a Demon” and “Pay the Butcher’s Bill” also revel in screaming out against the “outrage addiction” of modern discourse, the latter being especially notable for its swinging rhythm and noisy effects that somehow evoke orchestra or brass hits reminiscent of a Barry Adamson gangster theme for a cybernetic film noir. The monotonic vocoders on “Sentient” make for a surprisingly evocative chorus, leaving “Jester’s Privilege” to actually wind things down for an atmospheric conclusion to “THE BASTARD GODS“, still managing to sneak in some steely funk bass stylings.
As stated, “THE BASTARD GODS“ is still very much an Angelspit album, with songs like “Tyranny of the Beat” and “The System” being the most overt examples of the band’s previous output. The pervasive grind of the distorted synths, guitars, and drums coupled with Zoog von Rock’s signature sneer and snarl gnaws with a chilling acidity that has been at the core of Angelspit’s sound from the beginning. And yet, it is this biomechanical ambience and unflinchingly provocative approach that has made this act so unique, along with an undeniable catchiness that belies the grittiness. Some might not hear it as any different from others in the band’s discography, but there’s enough nuance and texture to make “THE BASTARD GODS“ one of Angelspit’s finer efforts.
Read the original review here:
https://regenmag.com/reviews/review-angelspit-the-bastard-gods/
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