Kaiju
Total Monster Armageddon
2010 Shepherd of Rot Records
I'm surprised no one thought of this sooner. The idea of giant monsters meeting death metal just had to happen sooner or later. The time is now. Kaiju walks the Earth! Somehow or another, this band didn't get picked up by Razorback Records, as they would have fit in perfectly there. Not sure if they were overlooked or didn't send them a promo pack or what, but then again... putting your own band out on your own label does have its appeal. So here we have fourteen tracks of an all out giant monster attack (six of the songs are straight off of their "The Gods Are Angry" demo), and whatever city you happen to live in is about to be stomped into dust and the citizenry reduced to ashes. The death metal is heavy, the vocals gutteral, and the keyboards add just the right touch of horror. Yes, keyboards. Mortuary Mike uses his instrument to enhance the songs in various places, while Chainsaw Joel throws out sick guitar virtuoso solos all over the place, yet never descends into fretboard wankery. Lately there seems to be a sharp division of "old school death metal" and "modern death metal." Kaiju really don't fit into either category. While there is a strong old school vibe throughout all of the tracks, it's also safe to say that no 1990s death metal band was doing anything even remotely like this. At the same time, Kaiju don't fit in with the modern style much either. They're brutal, but not in the modern way. That said, "Total Monster Armageddon" does kind of resemble the current "album with no songs" format favored by the new school. The tracks just kind of careen along at their own pace and it's like the band just decided to see where each one would go without really planning anything. Ordinarily, I can't stand this type of songwriting (or lack thereof), but for once it works. "Total Monster Armageddon" comes across like a soundtrack, with each song portraying a scene from what would be the most badass Toho produced flick ever.
Killer Band!!!
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