Search - Scraping Foetus Off the Wheel :: Nail

A descent into an inferno...

D. M. MATALLIN | Valencia, Spain | 01/25/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"but an inferno full of interesting things.For those who don't know, Foetus is Jim Thirlwell, a very important remixer who has worked with bands such as Nine Inch Nails, Front 242, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Einsturzende Neubauten, among others. I must admit that, though I have known him as a remixer for almost 10 years now, that is, since I listened to a remix he did of Religion by Front 242, as an independent musician I just know him for 2 or 3 months.Now, when I listened to this album I realised I had committed a mistake by not having paid him attention earlier. Foetus denies to be considered "industrial". I'm not going to make a speech about my disliking labels and all that 'cos it would bore you, but I'll just tell you that Foetus IS industrial...AND LOTS OF MORE THINGS. When you listen to Foetus, and especially to this album and the previous ones, you realise of some things:1. That the amazing band Einsturzende Neubauten (probably my second favourite band, just after The Legendary Pink Dots) were not alone in their concept of music made by inventing ayny instrument you can imagine.2. That Thirlwell must listen to a lot of diverse music and he mixes all those influences in his records: industrial, jazz, lounge, classical, pop, punk...3. That Foetus is an agressive band with a lot of sense of humour.My favourite songs are:- 'The Throne of Agony', where Foetus shows all his potentials, including agressiveness and sense of melody in the same packet.-'Pigswill', where Foetus shows that Einsturzende Neubauten concept of noisy music, both descendants of Can's Tago Mago.- 'Descent into the Inferno', a song which starts very calm, a sort of industrial blues which shows us the sensitive side of Foetus, but as it progresses everything starts to get more and more "punk-ish"- 'Enter the Exterminator', where again the Einsturzende Neubauten similarities are obvious. More whispered than screamed.- 'Anything', another good industrial song.I used to be a pure industrial lover. Years ago I only listened to bands such as Front Line Assembly, Skinny Puppy, KMFDM, etc. Now I consider some (not all, of course)of those bands are too monolythical. Their voices (especially FLA's, Wumpscut's, etc) are distorted and lack humanity.
Foetus' voice is at first sight similar. But when you get used to his raw singing, you start to observe that he does a lot of things with his voice. He's more a sort of Nick Cave singer. Nail is probably his best album. If you like it, get 'Hole', the previous album. You'll find there how Foetus dares even to parody Beach Boys.One last thing. If you have never listened to Foetus, don't get scared by its name. I also thought this was going to be just another pseudo-gothic band with bad taste. (see Nosferatu, for example) But you'll get a band that should deserve more recognition."

Scraping foetus off the wheel

Oliver | Morelia, MICH MEX | 11/03/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Nail (1985), perhaps his masterpiece, was even more powerful, and in an "evil" way. Every single sound is exaggerated, overdone, dramatized. This album's songs are poems carved with a jack-hammer into the marble of a gravestone. A touch of retro` attitude (not too different from Frank Zappa's ventures into orchestral and jazz music) is drowned into magniloquent, sinister, gloomy, tragic, terrifying industrial "symphonies". But, ultimately, this was also a heartbreaking cry of grief that soars in a landscape of desolation and depravation."