Thought Industry

This fairly original, innovative and utterly eccentric outfit had their more decipherable, accessible “physiognomy” once upon a time, first as Desacrator under which moniker they released a solitary demo in 1988, a clever stylish tribute to the Bay-Area sound; and later as Thought Industry whose beginnings were contained on the demo reviewed here.

That new start was quite a step forward in nearly every department compared to the Desacrator demo, the band obviously willing to pursue loftier musical trajectories for which “The Chalice Vermillion” is the surest testimony, a consummate progressive thrasher the guys moshing like demented before the jarring, mind-scratching breaks arrive those taken straight from the Mekong Delta and Living Death coded textbooks, more melodic progressive build-ups creating more drama later which is greatly helped by the excellent dramatic clean vocals; expect more impetuous, also quite intricate thrashing as well as a breath-taking balladic exit on this most compelling behemoth. “The Flesh is Weak” has an interesting tranquil intro before dazzling technical riffs fill in the whole space reaching melodic heights mid-way where the serene balladisms from the beginning show up again; more elaborate rifforamas are served in the second half with heavy stomping sections pacifying the situation towards the end. “Wishing Well” is a song taken from the Desacrator repertoire its balladic again inauguration quickly overwritten by more aggressive guitars which march onward with frequently shifting times and tempos until a whirlwind of vitriolic intricate riffs gets formed and seldom gets disentangled save for a more linear speedy stroke and a really fine lead-driven showing, the singer leaving a very positive impression, too, with his attached pathos-like antics. “Red Barchetta” is a cover of the Canadian progressivers Rush, and the guys’ desire to keep it as faithful to the original as possible results in considerable sacrifice of the more intense guitar work from the preceding numbers; fans of Rush and this particular frolic bouncer will have no problems recognising it although the thrash metal fanbase won’t get much fun from it. They will by all means be entertained by the final “Final Ballet”, though, a bit more than just a min of violent bashing thrash/crossover, a strange frivolous way to end this very seriously-minded, thought-out recording.

Well, this is a not ordinary effort so escapades of the kind should be expected, especially after the first three compositions constitute some of US progressive/technical thrash's finest moments ever this side of Toxik’s “Think This”, Blind Illusion’s “The Sane Asylum” and Watchtowers’ “Control & Resistance”. Eccentricity was going to be the name of the game in their camp from now on, and elaborations on those outbursts of genius were going to be just a wishful thinking apparently… not quite as the debut “Songs for Insects” did contain a few delightful passages for the thrashers including the mentioned “The Chalice Vermillion” which was slightly elongated in order to fit the eclectic character of the other material. However, spacing out was by all means on top of the band’s list, and each subsequent release was hard evidence of their non-conventional, highly unorthodox sense of creativity which went to not previously traversed dimensions where others like Verwaint (“Rollkragen”), Carbonized ("Screaming Machines”), Kobong ("Chmury Nie Bylo”), O.L.D. (“Formula”), etc. followed.

The fans have learnt their lesson having been exposed to these guys’ musical exploits. They know that any time there’s something new coming out of the Thought Industry camp, they should prepare their black, white and whatever other coloured umbrellas they have to protect themselves from the inevitable bizarre riff downpour.

Thought Industry has always been one of those bands who kind of float around on the edges of metal's consciousness, namedropped by the 'oh so knowledgeable' as a footnote while discussing avant-garde metal or prog just to show that they're aware of weird bands besides Spiral Architect and Demilich. Some of these people might even own a TI album or two, but I frankly doubt most of them have listened to them very often. People tend to like their thrash in chewable Flintstones vitamin form, whereas Thought Industry's early material is more like eating poetry; it's definitely artier, but not everybody likes the taste of ink, and it may or may not be good for your sanity.

Well I've got good news for you. Thought Industry's demo is easily their most accessible work until 1997's acidly hilarious alt-rock masterpiece Black Umbrella (re-review coming eventually). This record is essentially high-minded progressive thrash metal as it was understood in 1990, every song being stuffed to the point of bursting with time changes, jaw-dropping fretless bass licks ("Wishing Well" is insane), lots of flashy drumming (refreshingly focused more on the cymbals than double-bass wankery), neo-folk acoustic breaks and more riffs than you can shake a Vio-Lence at. All of these things can also be said of the debut LP Songs for Insects (and indeed several of these songs appear there in reworked configurations), but here everything is just slightly more comprehensible, with less random changes for the sake of alienating the great unwashed.

This is actually quite a bit more enjoyable to listen to than Songs for Insects, primarily because that album already sees the band in flux, aspiring to an art rocked muse and trying like hell to get away from their thrash roots... while in the process of recording a thrash album. This is literally the last time that Thought Industry would be able to record a cover of "Red Barchetta" without having every note drip with irony, and while on later albums that ironic asshole posture would contribute to some of the great unsung albums in modern rock, it's just a pleasure to hear this incredibly intelligent and gifted band rip through an old prog chestnut with unbridled energy and flare. Wilde was not wrong when he spoke of the importance of being earnest, and it’s that unsullied enthusiasm that really makes this a smoking cover.

Another great selling point for this release over Songs for Insects is that here Oberlin isn't trying to find his feet as a singer; he just shouts, and while his voice is somewhat more like a behaved punk rock sneer than a thrash bark, it's more effective than his not-ready-for-primetime bleat on the subsequent LP. Looking at this from the perspective of a longtime fan, Oberlin is already a recognizable vocal talent with his skewed melodies and stream-of-consciousness poetry. I live for the few flashes we see here of the wires-crossed howl that would become his trademark (to the twelve people who listen to this band).

In any case, Thought Industry's self-titled demo comes highly recommended to prog and particularly thrash enthusiasts, as well as those who, like me, would throw their mother under a bus if it meant getting hold of more material from Brent Oberlin’s pen. Awesomely, in this case I don’t have to use a spatula to scrape my mother off the street, because this demo is available free online at the link below:

Leon’s Temple: http://leonstemple.com/thoughtindustry.html (fantastic site for those interested in the scene that produced Thought Industry, with tons of goodies for the assiduous browser)

Stand-Out Track: “Wishing Well” (highly reworked from its previous appearance on the Desacrator demo)