Shit Happens

Now, it's not often that I shit on an underground album; I know what it's like from the artist's point of view and it's pretty disheartening, but I'm going to give some fair points as to why I gave this album its low score. First of all, the entire record is obnoxious. Everything, from the album cover to the song titles to the vocals to the guitar solos, it's all just so silly and annoying. The very muddy, sludgy sound could've worked if the album didn't sound like it was recorded in a garage, which it probably was. The guitar tone is just shit, almost to the point of being unlistenable. It reminds me of Dopesmoker without that rich heavenly fuzz, and most of the riffs are even ruined by this. The drums are way too loud, and they annihilate the mix, making everything else sound like it was recorded 60 feet away from the studio (if this was even recorded in a studio). The bass is actually alright, but because it blends with the guitars almost identically, it might as well be inaudible except for some odd parts.

The first song, the title track, is probably the best song. There are 2 very groovy riffs and in your face vocals, the problem is that this song is just so repetitive, you can't play 2 riffs for 4 minutes and nothing else unless your band's name is bolt thrower. I don't think there's a single soft section, time change, or breakdown on the entire album, and there are only 2 or 3 solos, all of which are awful and tuneless. Fuckin' Wednesday proves my point of the record being virtually unlistenable, the intro is just incredibly obnoxious, with tons of guitar feedback, some guy mumble-whining, an alarm going off, and an irritating bassline that is 1 note from as far as I can tell, and the singer just mumbles throughout the whole track, the only good thing about the song is the quiet bluesy melodies buried somewhere under this clusterfuck of sound. The drum intro to Self Destruction is easily one of the worst drum intros of all time (it is a roll played 32 times, that isn't an exaggeration). As if the first 3 tracks haven't made it abundantly clear that this album is a trainwreck, the next 4 songs are even worse. Songs like Wooden Pussy and Speed just being noisy, samey, boring and unoriginal. The record as a whole just has a very uncomfortable feeling, and not in a good nor atmospheric way either. The vocals are screamy and infantile, it's like if Phil Anselmo was woken up after 2 hours of sleep, waterboarded, kicked in the balls and then put in the studio.

Anyways, this is a totally forgettable album buried under the sea of underground metal, and it can stay buried for all I care. The band hasn't been active for over 7 years, and it's clear to see why. The only good things about the album is that some of the riffs are very good and the production isn't too terrible, but the songwriting is all over the place and I feel like Trigger rely too heavily on noise aspects when they could utilise their riffing potential and become a much more doom metal-centred type of band. So why don't they? Well, like I mentioned earlier, the band hasn't seen the light of day for nigh on a decade, and I doubt the members would bother to revive an act that's been as forgotten and interred as Triggers, if they even still play music. In conclusion, don't listen to this, there is much better underground metal elsewhere.