Scream Blast Repeat enjoyed Industrial Puke’s debut EP last year and commented that ‘hardcore and death metal should not be natural bedfellows, but many of today’s extreme bands force you to ask if a reappraisal could change minds.’ We affirmed that ‘Industrial Puke are part of that conversation, and their debut album next year looks set to force the question onto the agenda once again.’ The record is now with us, and it contains all four tracks from their Where Life Crisis Starts EP and six new cuts. You also wonder what happened to their death metal influences. On the surface, Born into the Twisting Rope is a hardcore record.
Those unfamiliar with the 2022 EP will have much to be excited about, but those of us that listened to it last year will feel a little underwhelmed by the Swedish quintet’s debut LP. Four of the first five tracks are from Where Life Crisis Starts. The raucous d-beat frenzy of ‘Mental Taxation’ and the bass-heavy thrash of ‘Banished’ sound as energetic as they did upon their first release. Indeed, the surprise heavy metal gallop of the former is its most charming feature. You can’t fault the vituperative assault of ‘Reactionary Warfare’ for its Power Trip tendencies and strange gang vocals that focus on instinctive screaming techniques. Track five is a reminder that crusty hardcore can be as pleasing as primitive death metal when the venomous hiss of the bass reaches these levels of hostility.
If you feel they’ve sold you short, they make up for it with the quality and subtle experimentation of the second half of this LP. Industrial Puke remember to rock out at their heaviest moments. ‘Neurosexist Motherfucker’ starts like a paranoid stoner metal number but switches to a fierce hardcore punk offensive. ‘Hell is in Hello’ plays to the mosh pit with a vicious burst of crossover thrash. Get pissed. Destroy. Ignore the regrets. This could be the mantra of Industrial Puke. ‘Cleaning (and Awaiting Death)’ is like Bad Brains in the hands of Napalm Death. Linus Jägerskog’s belting voice sounds like the roar of an Olympian bodybuilder. But this is not the music you play in the gym before you start work. You want something to pump you up, yet the vibe here is one of disenchantment, frustration, despair. ‘General Gluttony’ externalises these frustrations in an alternation of doom metal and pentatonic rock. You want to escape, but what are you escaping from? Broken relationships, bad career choices, stunted expectations?
Born into the Twisting Rope has no time to stick around to view the consequences of its collateral damage. Should it be longer? Two more tracks would not damage the flow of the album, but they would need to be something other than temple-throbbing hardcore. Industrial Puke are good at what they do, but is that enough to stand out?
JVB
Verdict
Release Date: 12/05/2023
Record Label: Suicide Records
Standout tracks: Reactionary Warfare, Hell is in Hello, General Gluttony
Suggested Further Listening: Destroyed in Seconds – Divide and Devour (2021), Filth is Eternal – Love is a Lie, Filth is Eternal (2021), Vvorse – Kurjien Elegia (2022)