Indecision is something I can’t stand… I think. No, wait, let
me get back to you on that.
Yet indecision is my opinion when it comes to industrial music
or industrial-edged rock. On any given day, I may love a disc that
I absolutely hated just the day before. I really don’t know why
this is; maybe it’s because of my attitude that day, or what I’m in
the mood for hearing – or maybe I just don’t know sometimes how to
react to the music I’m hearing.
In the case of Lab Animals and their debut disc
Silent Weapons For Quiet Wars, indecision is the best
description for how I felt listening to the album. On one hand,
there were some tracks that absolutely blew me away. On the other
hand, I found myself wondering what new trails this trio was
blazing that dozens of other bands in the same genre haven’t
walked. (Maybe I also should have listened to this disc before
digging into the new Nine Inch Nails.)
The band – Zeke William McNeil, Greg Peterson and Richard Newman
– all seem to have the basic premise of industrial down without
getting too radical about it: heavy synthesizer use, pounding bass
lines that threaten to smash the cones in your speakers, and vocals
that often rely on electronic doctoring to emphasize a point.
Normally, my smart-aleck comment at this time would be, “Been
there, done that.” But Lab Animals start out this disc in strong
fashion with “Worlds In Collision,” a track that had me thinking
this was going to be an extraordinary listening experience. Indeed,
tracks like “24 Hours In Hell” and “Some Other Destination” all had
me thinking the same thing, and that Lab Animals might really be on
to something with the chemistry on this disc.
Unfortunately, these moments of pure abandon faded faster than
the Cubs’ playoff hopes, as
Silent Weapons For Quiet Wars quickly fell into the same
patterns that I’ve heard on numerous other industrial albums. Had
there been less nondescript tracks like “Angel Dust,” “Pure” and
“Death By Pain” on this one, it might have been an album that stood
out even more than it did on its excellent tracks.
Two things about Lab Animals make me hold out hope that
something great still lies in their horizon for them. First, I will
admit that even their weaker tunes seem to catch you to the point
where you don’t realize how long it’s been that you’ve been
listening to this disc. They do know how to make almost an hour go
by very quickly. Second, the tracks on this disc that are prime
material make me think that they have one killer album in their
veins, and that could be in their near future.
Silent Weapons For Quiet Wars has moments that suggest that
Lab Animals will be a group to seriously contend with soon. If only
it had more moments like that, it would have been a better than
average album.
