Labels: Prank
Review by: Alex Deller
Live, Artimus Pyle are a tidal wave of noise, beards and strobe lighting. The confines of a cd obviously do away with two parts of that equation, but the racket that we’re left with more than makes up for it: a huge, vicious wall off unholy terror that burns whole cities to the ground and salts the land in its wake. Y’see, Artimus Pyle are one of those bands who seem to be just perfect for Prank – when they blast they’re a teetering lead-heavy hardcore band in the style of His Hero Is Gone, and when they slow it the fuck down (as on the excellent No Birds Fly or Decisions) they hit you with an ominous, cloying Neurosis/Nausea vibe that is no less bludgeoning than their flat-out hardcore moments. Bleak, desperate lyrics couple a horrified disbelief at the events unfolding across the globe with a more personal sense of hopelessness and despair, spat out in a series of coarse bellows and roars that could well have arisen from the very depths of hell. If you’re in need of a little light relief after the thoroughly morbid events that have just unfolded stateside, this really isn’t for you. If, on the other hand, you can bear to be dragged through the dirt just one more time, sling this on and mire yourself in some impeccably dark, brutal music for these dark and brutal times.