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| Artwork by IsisDesignStudio |
If you are from Long Island, NY, you probably have a smile on your face right now. Alas, we are not talking about people who live out east, but instead a band from Austria. Mastic Scum have been around since 1992 and CTRL (their 5th full length album released in December 2013 via Massacre Records) is my initial introduction to them (better late than never, right?).
Musically this sits somewhere between Fear Factory's Soul of a New Machine and Demanufacture, with a dash of grindyness and some Ministry overtones. The album is chock full of machine gun riffs with a guitar tone that is far less sterile than you would expect from this type of music. Make no mistake, it still has that cold dystopian vibe, yet enough warmth underneath to help convey its heaviness. Vocally its the full on death metal tilt (none of that clean singing rubbish). I knew I had heard this voice (grunt, growl, choose your own adjective) before and upon further inspection, its none other than Maggo Wenzel of Tristwood fame (shame on you for not knowing who that is, which will be like 99.986% of you).
Standout tracks include "Rebornation" & "The Vortex Within" (which will make you want to scream "I GOT NO MORE GODDAMN REGRETS/RESPECT" during its final 30 seconds).
[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]