The new record by Blanck Mass, Animated Violence Mild, is the kind of thing that almost seems like a parody of the sorts of bands I listened to 30 years ago. The sheer heaviness on display here -- dig that promo pic! -- is such that I am honestly at a loss when trying to determine who the audience is for this kind of thing. The new album drops on Sacred Bones on Friday and I suppose I should now discuss the music itself.
"Death Drop" roars and churns with a nice mix of light metal and techno, the sort of thing one would find on a video game soundtrack, if that's your sort of thing, while "House vs. House" is far better, a neat updating of Ministry stuff from 1989 or so. Elsewhere, "Love is a Parasite" is cod-techno, not really suitable for dancing and not of much use otherwise. Thankfully, Animated Violence Mild ends on a high note as "Wings of Hate" manages to achieve a nice, oddly beautiful vibe. If the whole album had been like this, I think I could have appreciated it more. But I think anyone who's listened to Nine Inch Nails or Mute Records bands of the Nineties will have likely heard most of this before, and will likely feel like this isn't an entirely necessary revival of those sounds.
Or maybe I'm just far too old for stuff like this anymore.
Animated Violence Mild is out on Friday via Sacred Bones.
More details on the Blanck Mass official Facebook page.
[Photo: Blanck Mass]