On _Rules_, Kings of Feedback come into their own.
Don't forget what you heard on _Open Your Ears_, but don't expect BTM to
stick to it at all. _Rules_ showcases a band with a vast range of sound,
from dark, growling metal to ambient goth to energetic, electronic, and
noisy to whatever you might not be expecting at the moment. The album
progresses through several stages, ranging from true music to true
antimuzik, from radio-friendly to unapologetic - it's difficult to imagine
anyone not finding *something* they like about this album, and easy to
imagine most people liking everything about it. This, more than any other
album BTM has created to date, is the album I see most likely to cross
over into mainstream airplay. That, by itself, is not high praise - the
high praise here is that BTM has created such an album without
compromising himself or losing his trademark sound. His fans will have no
problem diving into this record, but even his non-fans will likely enjoy
what they hear now - KoF has shown that their sound is all their own,
distinct from any of BTM's other projects, and it's a sound worth paying
attention to.
The album starts off with "Everything" and "Lost My Faith", dropping right
into a hard, growling, distorted sound reminiscent of Filter, NIN, or
Marilyn Manson. Vernon Tart's vocals shine on both tracks, screaming for
an end to his own hate in "Everything" and facing the reality of life on
the high-energy "Lost My Faith". The next track, "Sacred Ground", was
featured on BTM's SubGenius _Orgy of Slack_ CD; its sardonic lyrics on
religion and well-chosen samples are layered over a throbbing guitar/bass
line which drives home the feel of the song perfectly. "Gator" is both a
damned funny song and a damned *rockin'* song, the hillbilly/redneck/white
trash ramblings about catchin' gators are backed up by incredible,
free-wheeling and furious guitar work - blues-influenced wailings meet
with screaming rock solos in one hell of a combination.
The album slows but doesn't soften for "Violent and Aggressive", a
surprisingly honest and simple song about violent and aggressive behavior;
Vernon's singing style and Sean O'Brien's guitars turn what might have
been a ballad for any other band into a very interesting and unique song.
It jumps back into the heavy rock groove of "Spider", a funky song with a
delightful tendency to plunge into choruses and bridges of thrashing
guitars and screaming. After that, "Guitar Gawd" introduces some humor and
noise, essentially comprised of riffs from half a dozen guitar players
juxtaposed with samples from a "Playing the Guitar" primer and high
pitches squealing from guest vocalists. Short, noisy, and hilarious.
"Locust", the next offering, is an older song of KoF's which I first heard
on BTM's _Heavy Hardcore Headroom_ compilation. I was incredibly impressed
with it then, and remain so. The sample providing the name ("America has
decided to devour its youth!") mixed with Vernon's angry lyrics about
society and the catchy guitar riffs work together about as perfectly as
possible...this song is the one I now play to those who want a sample of
KoF's work.
At this point, things start to get really different. "Whispers" is a slow,
rhythmic, ambient...well, it'd be flat out *gothic* if the samples were
about blood, love, and death. Instead, it's a dreamlike journey through
the subconscious, the vocals, guitars, samples, and keyboards fading in
and out as the beat steadily travels on...it segues perfectly into
"Confused", which trades some of the ambience for the guitars, bass, and
drums grooving through samples and other odd sounds...which then segues
easily into "That's Now". "That's Now" is, quite frankly, my favorite song
on the album. It's very difficult to describe - the rythym throbs
throughout the song, the guitars come in whenever needed to turn the
rythym into a hook-laden riff or to solo over the riffs, the samples and
lyrics are well done and flow together so well...it's dancy, ambient,
rocking, heavy, mellow, all at once. I've never heard anything quite like
it.
"Freakin' Perverted" overlays a funky beat with guitar slides and a big
ol' ton of samples from judgmental morons; the end result is very fun and
dancy. The fun continues with "Wank My Whammy", where BTM showcases his
geetar skills and vocals in a not-too-serious manner, abusing the hell out
of his whammy bar while singing unashamed lyrics that make it clear just
how phallic the guitar really is - face it, music is all about sex at some
fundamental level, right? But then, someone would say *everything* is
about sex at some fundamental level....
KoF does blues? Hell yes, and they do them well. "TV Addict" is what you
get when you take a blues song and run it through the KoF filter. The
distorted guitars riff away amidst harmonicas wailing, acoustic guitars
plucking, and BTM singing of his only real friend in life, his television.
The next surprise on this ever-changing album is a cover of the old
Animals' song "It's My Life". I haven't heard the original, but this
version is certainly well done, and unapologetically KoF: Heavy and
grungy with samples a'plenty. After that, the album wraps up with "Hook Me
Up", not so much a normal KoF song as more of an OBE-style remix of some
music found earlier in the album (I leave it to the reader to figure out
which song or songs) with new samples and some new music added. Very
short...Beck does techno...that sort of thing.
But even after all *that*, the album isn't quite over! Leave it to BTM to
include a full EP on the last part of the record. First, we're treated to
five mini-songs from his latest project, Orgy of Noise. Those into true,
pure *noise* - *real* antimuzik (John Zorn, Six Finger Satellite, Anal
Cunt, Uberkunst) - will love this. Others might be scared...don't worry,
no one will blame you for skipping past these to the OBE bonus track.
Personally, though, I loved them, being a big fan of noise bands. The OBE
bonus track "Nerd" should make up for any mental trauma caused by the
previous five tracks; it's dancy as hell - just begging to be played in a
club somewhere. The samples (there are no 'lyrics') are about computer
geeks, the internet, and other nerds and nerdy topics - funny as hell.
After all that, there's still *more*, as four tracks worth of very short
OBE remixes (from _Call Now_, OBE's first album) take us to the actual end
of the album. Phew...you definitely get your money's worth here!
I've been a fan of BTM's stuff for a long time, and have heard more KoF
than probably any person besides BTM, but this album made me feel like I
was hearing a brand new band for the first time. I was awestruck by the
diversity, the talent, and the juxtaposition of the weird, Dobbs-approved
sound with the potenial to become a serious mainstream hit. Whether or not
you've heard KoF, or any BTM stuff, in the past, whether you loved or
hated them if you did, I have to recommend checking out this CD - not just
as another BTM project, but as an album, and a band, that stands alone in
its own spotlight. You'll be glad you did.
Thumbs up.
You can visit http://billtmiller.com/kofcd to see more info on the CD, or
to hear the music. That's right, BTM has put the *entire CD* up on his
website for *free*! Every song, unabridged, in RealAudio format (along
with RA and WAV versions of much of his other stuff). Now you have no
excuse to check them out; by the time you're done, you'll not only be
begging him to take your measley cash in exchange for this CD, but you'll
end up buying half a dozen OBE, Drum Army, and King of Slack CDs and tapes
as well - because it's all just SO DAMNED GOOD.
--
Rev. Pee Kitty, of the order Malkavian-Dobbsian
Meow!
::: Thinking about a Tampa Bay Devival in the future - email me!
::: Or go to http://www.cris.com/~pkitty (hell, go there anyways!)
Original file name: P-Kitty RULZ REVIEW-
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