 It seems that Roadrunner's eternal bridesmaids, Spineshank, have finally got the balance right. Debut disc Strictly Diesel was admittedly derivative - sitting halfway between Fear Factory and the Deftones - but also boasted consistently strong songwriting. I thought it was was great, but at the time I was in the minority.
What it was missing was a couple of serious kick-ass tunes to create a bit of mayhem. Eventually these arrived on the follow-up The Height Of Callousness, in the form of New Disease and the vein-throbbing Synthetic. While the rest of the album was just as brutal, it was overshadowed by the sheer brilliance of the two singles.
Self-Destructive Pattern is Spineshank's third offering, and while it does contain the trademark intensity the title suggests, it maybe should have lifted its monicker from this album's opening track, Violent Mood Swings. Why? Because Spineshank haphazardly career from shouty post-industrial metal to almost radio-friendly Hoobastank-ness (my new favourite word). The aforementioned Violent Mood Swings with its "It's like a fucking disease, it's like a fucking disease, it's like a fucking disease and it shows" refrain isn't going to win any media marketing prizes, but first single Smothered is positively meek in comparison.
Other highlights include Consumed (Obsessive Compulsive), which is just as intense as Synthetic, and Beginning Of The End, which marries both aspects of Spineshank's split personality into the one song. Nice.
And this is what Spineshank needed to do. Slipknot have proved that shade without light just ends up being boring (and slightly pointless). Like I said, just like Depeche Mode, with Self-Destructive Pattern, Spineshank have got the balance right. :: Rowan Shaeffer |
