Derision Cult base their musical operations in Chicago, the city that spawned industrial metal thanks to Ministry. You can also make the case for Birmingham (England) due to the impact of Godflesh, but Derision Cult belong to the Ministry camp. They have ten albums to their name (including remix efforts) and five EPs, and now they present us with their sixth extended play. But can the duo of Dave McAnally (vocals, guitar programming) and Sean Payne (vocals, programming, production) drag the genre out of the 1990s?
‘Where Are You Now?’ starts like an industrial metal version of ‘Monkey’ by George Michael and then takes a sharp left turn towards sample-heavy thrash metal with skank beats. The vocals are close to Al Jourgensen of Ministry in tone and tenacity. Unfortunately, the guitar riffing sounds like the velocity impact of striking an object against tin rather than steel. It’s the same with the drums – these are too hollow in the mix. But the duo deserve praise for the way they use competing layers of synths as if building systems for liquid to flow into the sewers.
The main problem with this record is the production. There’s no life in it. ‘Joker’s Wild (And Kings are Dead)’ could pass for a dry Ministry demo in terms of audio engineering. It needs more weight behind it. To be fair, nothing too formulaic jumps out during this song. Derision Cult are capable of surprises even if they fall short on originality. They’re not afraid here to let a distorted bass hook lead the verse parts when needed.
On a basic level, we must ask if the volume levels are low on purpose or because the equipment used to record these songs is substandard. ‘Warning Signs’ is industrial thrash in standard tuning with a sinister voice snarling over the top in a deep south accent. But the guitars have no power to their distortion. For comparative purposes, that’s a problem when you have the highest bar in industrial metal set by Prong in 1994 (and still unsurpassed to this day). Take ‘Radiation Blues’ as a case study. The story-telling element is impressive. Electronic snare beats, slide guitar samples and deadpan vocals whispered through high levels of reverb dominate the direction of travel. But the guitars sound like a bedroom recording on an analogue four-track from 1996.
Innovative ideas are rare here, but they stand out when you notice them. A bass groove with hostile kick beats in ‘Influence’ allows the listener a welcome moment of introspection. Likewise, ‘Abdication Day’ makes good use of drum ‘n’ bass beats with a slight tinkering to make them feel more rock in nature. But is Mercenary Notes, Pt. 2 a progression from White Zombie’s commercial peak in outlook and outcome? The answer is no. The riffs are juicy enough for the metal faithful, but they could do with more muscle.
JVB
Verdict
Release Date: 14/03/2025
Record Label: Glitch Mode Recordings
Standout tracks: Joker’s Wild (And Kings are Dead); Abdication Day
Suggested Further Listening: White Zombie – Astro-Creep: 2000 (1995), Ministry – Moral Hygiene (2021), Dekay – Start the Rot (2024)