Thursday, November 29, 2012

Album Review: Metz Metz

Metz
Metz
***and1/2 out of *****

This clanging trio from Toronto, Canada have produced some angular, aggressive, flat out noisy rock for their first release on Sub-Pop.  You can call it post-hardcore, sludge rock, noise metal, grunge, whatever just be prepared for some power behind this threesome.

Metz's first song is appropriately titled "Headache" as I can only imagine this is the sound of insane migraine.  The pounding drums lead into off-kilter flashes of sound before repetitive guitar slashing commences for two minutes.  Distorted echo laced vocals come screaming in before a cacophony of noise closes things out with scraping and scratching all over those god damn pounding drums that won't stop!!!  Pretty perfect in its mission and outcome.

The rest of the album continues along those lines if not so completely abrasive, "Get Off" is a straight up punk rock bopper that gets scuzzied up with feedback and distortion as Christ Slorach bass gets raw. "Nausea" is an odd instrumental interlude that acts as a break from the chaos before "Wet Blanket" slaps an industrial sounding track on the album, throughout the self titled release lead vocalist Alex Edkins has a style reminiscent to Al Jourgensen's early Ministry days that works well with the blast sounds.

The electric drill guitar Edkins fires off on "Rats" dissolves into a smashing of drums of Hayden Menzies that Nirvana and Mudhoney fans will find comforting. "Wasted" also feels like a track dragged up from the flannel clad early nineties with big crashes, screeches and pure aggression before putting in an actual chorus that the disenfranchised can scream along to.          

There is a definite, "return to early days feeling" with this band being signed to Sub-Pop.  The rawness and power call to mind the labels most successful acts and that bodes well for Metz and any lover of that pissed off grunge style of rock.  

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2012 turned out to be pretty good year for Canadian noise rock, first we got Nu Sensae now we have Metz to attack the ear drums. Both loud, pissed off clanging rock acts that would sound good in basements.  Both owe to punk/noise acts of the past and yet have the youth and energy for the present.  Here's hoping the future bodes well for both.
Support the band here, buy the album here, and peep some samples below:
"Wet Blanket"

"Negative Space"

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