'Ctrl'
(Massacre Records)
MARK: 83/100
Between Fear Factory, recent Napalm Death and Cattle Decapitation crawls "Controlled Collapse", matched by a video available here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1Gx_VpJ-sY , and followed by "Dehumanized", a martial track influenced by Vader, Nasum and Decapitated in the tighter structures embellished by fulminant guitar solos, dynamic rifferama and modern samples in the background; absolutely devastating is the drum performance while the bass helps with its lowest possible notes.
"Cause & Effect", also depicted by the Austrian four-piece with an official video, contains a crushing mid-tempoed riff, with the bassist annihilating our eardrums once again; appreciable is the fast and megaheavy drumwork sounding like a Tiger panzer; think of an incest between Fear Factory and Nailbomb and you'll get close to the reality. The axe solo is brief but one of the finest of the whole record.
The latest Napalm Death are mentioned again in "Brute-Force-Methode", a composition dealing with pure Death/Grind where are a few additional screaming vocals matching the typical growling; echoes of Bloodsoaked characterize the song structure, too.
A top-notch riff opens "Dis3mbod1m3nt", where gurgling vocals alternate with decaying ones near Fear Factory's, and this time the guitar is also similar to the US act on a couple of occasions.
While "Rebornation" is Death with Grind blastbeats and a refrain recurring to demoniacal vocals, and spoken words like in a prayer or during a ritual, "Perceptive Illusion" is Grindeath with Death growls and caustic Grind screams; decidedly one of the best written tracks, due to divine breaks, stopped riffs, accelerations; I bet its' as devastating on stage as it is here in my listening room!
Fans of Grind n' Roll mixed with mincing macho vocals are gonna enjoy the short "Hyper-Detection 2.0", whereas the brutal Vader/Behemoth/Cattle Decapitation-like "Create/Negate" breaks through our last defense attempts, enriched by an ultrafast axe solo halfway between Slayer and Morbid Angel.
The best riffs of the album are probably in "The Vortex Within", a song destined to be remembered thanks to a gloomy break and a spate of palm-muted riffs the way Metalcore has accustomed us to hearing; the drums during the blastbeats remind me of Dying Fetus's.
The closure is entrusted with "Resurrection", which initially seemed to me a bit bleak, but at the second listen was already better, steering from the rest of the album; the issue with it resides in some angry vocals sounding absolutely weak which I just can't find an explanation for. The song ranges from Death to Industrial, and modern Thrash, and both the guitar solo and the vocals seem to belong to another record.
"Ctrl", a homage to all Windows users, is far more than a fairly good album, still at the same time it is not a classic you absolutely must possess, therefore my piece of advice is to listen to a few tracks before buying it if you have never heard Mastic Scum earlier.
Line-up on this record:
Maggo Wenzel - v. (also in Inzest, Tristwood, ex-Lost Dreams, ex-Watch Me Bleed)
Harry Gandler - g.
Man Gandler - d.
Alexander Schmied - b. (ex-Days of Loss, ex-Brewed & Canned)
Contacts:
Salzburg/Vienna/Innsbruck - Austria
E-mail: info@masticscum.com
Official site:
http://www.masticscum.com
Demo-/Disco-graphy:
-Ephemeral Cerebral Butchery (EP - 1993)
-Promo/Tape 10/94 (demo - 1994)
-Tilt (EP - 1995)
-Live (Live album - 1996)
-Free Off Pain/Fake (split - 1996)
-Riot/Sick Sinus Syndrome (split - 1996)
-Nuclear Grinder/Mastic Scum/Cripple Bastards (split - 1997)
-Pure (split - 1997)
Fear/Blockheads (split - 1997)
-Clitto's Special Hit Covers '99/Rape (split - 1998)
-Zero (CD - 1999)
-Dawn in the Rotting Czech/Reek (split - 2001)
-Seeds of Hate/Crap (split - 2002)
-Scar (CD - 2002)
-Mind (CD - 2005)
-The EPs Collection 1993 - 2002 (Compilation - 2007)
-Dust (CD - 2009)
-C T R L (CD - 2013)
