Labels: Crucial Blast
Review by: Kunal Nandi
The Mass is billed as a bunch of nutbars. Described as a true melting pot for metal, prog, jazz, hardcore, doom, noise, polka, gospel, piped elevator muzak, tuvalu throat singing, klezmer, and more, I didn’t know what the hell to expect. When it all turns out to be (relatively) straightforward, especially for this day and age, it comes as a pleasant surprise. It’s still mad as teeth though, with a whole Naked City sort of vibe running through it, and a distinct case of the Mike Pattons in the approach. The mercifully sparse inclusion of saxophones even gives it a metal Sweep The Leg Johnny feel to proceedings at times, an awkward combination that is unique at the very least. Maybe metal is the watchword here, what with songs titles that feature words like “corpsewielder”, “cloven” and “carcass”, and the odd blazing Slayer-esque solo. The songs tend to go on for days, and there are so many cool bits that you could forgive them for wilfully jamming in as many weird riffs and odd timings as possible, though it’s certainly not going for a Dillinger Escape Plan-style craziness. At the end of the day, The Mass is one of those bands that is very easy to admire, but to actually love? I’m not so sure. Great fun all the same!