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Tell
me one record label that doesn’t have an embarrassing release in
its back catalogue and we’ll get into an argument because we’ll
disagree. Nottingham based Earache is one of the most
influential extreme labels in history, and that’s a point that
can’t be argued. Founded in 1985 by Digby Pearson Earache
Records has helped forge the career of some of the most
successful underground acts. Milestones by key bands such as
Carcass, Morbid Angel, Godflesh, Bolt Thrower, Cathedral amongst
many others, have experienced success in part thanks to the
efforts of this label and though nowadays their current roster
does not reflect the same level of influence in general terms,
Earache remains one of the premier underground extreme music
labels. ICrusher Complete is a double disc DVD (one disc with
video and audio data on both sides) including twenty-three
videos along with eleven bonus audio tracks and it’s one mixed
and uneven representation of the label’s historical roster.
Starting
with the average and the fun is everyone’s favorite freak
Mortiis, whose accessible hard electronic industrial music can
not escape the generic tag with Michael Schumacher at the wheel.
His videos are quite fun though because frontman Havard Ellefsen
(he was once the bassist for Emperor) dons a prosthetic mask and
pointy ears and is apparently very much the focus of attention
of hot party girls. The Haunted show up with a live performance
of “Hollow Ground”, the standout track from their sophomore
album The Haunted Made Me Do It and the biggest surprise
of all, Nevada’s December, a band I had never heard before,
offer up “Host” a pretty killer grind metal attack. Hate
Eternal’s badass “Powers That Be” (out of King of All Kings)proves
that low-to-no-budgets can make for decent videos. Just add some
grain and quick editing. Australian hyper fast sickos The
Berzerker are quite the divisive band. Their video of “Forever”
has little to no artistry in it (dudes with masks and gloves
pretend to play in front of a really big rock), and the same
could be said about their music. The technically adept
Decapitated mix their conceptual interpretation of the
Hellraiser box and as a result we get a decent song and a cheap
video.
Earache’s
Achilles heel has always been their dubious signing of shitty
trendy bands and ICrusher, via the totality of their videography
seems to highlight those missteps. Society 1, the industrial
rock quartet led by Matt Zane, proves that their music has zero
value via the totally lame “Nothing”. The band’s biggest
attraction is Zane’s frontman antics; namely hanging himself
from hooks, that’s cool and all but their music sucks. Italian
band Linea 77 present a pretty awful nu metal song called
“Ketchup Suicide”. For those who do not know this band; these
bambinos have made some awful choices. Unfortunately their genre
hopping hasn’t helped their cred and, despite some acceptable
non nu-metal albums, their past as baggy panted wanna be’s has
taken care of the rest. The most horrible song of all those
included is by a band monikered Autonomy; who prove that there
is nothing more embarrassing than a white boy with baggy pants
jumping around like a cricket. Their song “Was It Worth It” is
so horrible and clichéd it looks and sounds like a Saturday
Night Live skit.
Completing
this DVD are filler audio tracks by the likes of Usurper,
Corporation 187, Cult of Luna, Rabies Caste, December Wolves,
Insision and others. What’s wrong with these audio tracks?
Nothing, I just don’t see the point in including them here.
Also, we get footage of December in the studio with Devin
Townsend and footage of Society 1 filming a video. Yes, Matt
Zane hangs himself. Yes he makes it seem like it doesn’t hurt.
And yes, Society 1 sucks ass. The second extra on Society 1 is
more entertaining; there is some live footage of people throwing
plastic cups at the band and Zane dodging them like he is used
to it. There is Zane trying to get people in the audience to
stick fingers up his ass and contains excerpts of an interview
with Zane. At one point he says, ‘I have this need to make
people suffer’. Judging by his band's music we are safe to
say, mission accomplished. |
