The Insult That Made Man Out of Mac: II
Band: The Insult That Made Man Out of Mac
Album: II
Tracklist:
- Panic
- Cracked
- Can Can Heels (!)
- Sorry (!)
- Getaway
- Head In The Box (!!)
- Comfort Kills
- State of Perfection
- Crawling I Follow
(The ! marks the best songs on the album, some might have more than one)
A Detailed Study of the Anatomy of Hatred
"Hatred, along with the realization of one's limits, is for us the carrying force of this album. Hatred, disillusionment and frustration at the kind of world we are living in - and we don't believe there is need for detailed list of catastrophes caused by man, of indifference and destructive greed."
The Insult's second album is named rather plainly as "II" and is very unlike their first album years ago, which was a more Ministry esque industrial attempt. The newborn album still plods forward with a mechanical precision, but now entirely on human instruments. They have abandoned synthesizers, but I would still classify this music as Industrial-Metal. I cannot really find any bands to compare them with. Let's just say that it's metal, and it's minimalistic.
Their music is cold, hostile, precise and they obviously aren't here to please anyone. The guitar sound is gritty, the riffs are repetitive and simple, the drums are sparse, accompanied by a percussionist who uses a five feet long steel pipe as his instrument of choice. Sounds interesting? You bet. The vocals are distorted throaty screams spouting lyrics that are not perhaps quite up to par with the top lyricists of our time, but they serve their purpose; to make the songs progress.
This is minimalism at its best. Every instrument is clearly articulated, every note is as grating and hostile as possible. While the music may be purely human, it sounds cold and inhuman and right in your face.
The album is not likely to appeal to everyone, but those who like minimalism and aren't afraid of some violence will find the bleak vision of The Insult to their liking. The album will take a few listens to warm up to, because at first listen the minimalist hostility may indeed be too much. But once it has hammered your eardrums into a suitably malleable matter, it'll be sure to end up as your soundtrack every time you're going to beat up old ladies and burn hospitals.
There are no clear misses on this album, but there are several highlights."Head In a Box" with its thundering crescendo is the best song I've heard this year. "Sorry", "Getaway" and "Can Can Heels" are a few more highlights that are worth a listen. The latter's almost inane riff is near brilliant in its... simplicity.
The album can be difficult to listen to, but any true connoisseur of urban hostility will find that the album is of excellent quality. The hostility on this album rivals that of Corporate Avenger even if the genre and delivery of this hostility are completely different. Unfortunately, due to the extremely minimalistic and hostile tone of this album, I am afraid it will never sell. Hopefully the band will keep this brilliant and uniquely bleak vision of theirs alive, with or without commercial success.
I would recommend people to check out the website, and find a live version of "Head in a box" and take a listen to their almost mechanical precision. After that, there are quite a few other live songs to take a listen to. One of my favorites, and a member of my Best of 2005 list.
Sound Samples
