"Some might call it industrial metal, but Perfect Distortion's appeal comes from the powerful arrangements and performances rather than in the sound", so says the accompanying press sheet that came with the promo copy of the album. "TWO MUSICAL MINDS MEET TO CREATE A MONSTER ALBUM OF HARD-HITTING ANTHEMIC ROCK" Hell yeah, and METAL-i can't find a better way to describe it than that. But this is no monster from your nightmares, this is the monster that you cheer on as it stomps all over a chav-infested Tokyo, behemoth beats and weapons-grade vocals. And that, *i*Fans, is why as soon as we heard them, we knew. Knew what? Go read Noise Matters...
PERFECT DISTORTION
"Preaching To The Converted" album
Like most of the bands we find out about, first we heard of Perfect Distortion was via our submissions system, via email from vocalist Jim. Been a busy month for submissions, this one, so how do Hertfordshire-based Perfect Distortion measure up against the competitition? Jim sent us a promo copy of the forthcoming "Preaching To The Converted" album to help us make our minds up. You can check out 4 tracks from the album at their Myspace page.
They're not what you'd expect them to sound like, if you look at their pics. This is a sound forged on drilling industrial beats, poundin' bass lines, and great chuggy guitar, combined with vocals from Jim Distortion which tip the hat to Rob Zombie, Trent Reznor/NiN, Tool, Pitchshifter and Ministry among but any semblance of other bands is just a nod in their direction while forging their own sound and identity. Coming from the different musical backgrounds the core members have, it's not surprising this stands out as something original from the pack - Rob Clydesdale: multi-instrumentalist producer, rapper, writer; Jim Distortion: possessor of a gravelly but melodic powerful voice, firebrand frontman of numerous past bands, and "rabble-rousing compere of a number of major outdoor events".
The machine gun beats and combined melodies are gonna get you noddin at the very least, you'll be singing along to them before you know what hit you. You'll play this stuff in the car with this windows down. We already are. What you can get on Myspace is just a taster, the album as a whole is 12 tracks of which I can't find fault with any, but of all the album tracks, the standout one for me is the techmetal assault of View To The Future, followed closely by the melodic aggression of Freedom, and the sheer power of the beats and melody and lyrical hooks on Never Right .
Jim says this album was recorded in a mere five days, well I'll say this - this is better in 5 days than most bands seem to manage in a month. Fuckin stunnin'. We'll be catching up with Perfect Distortion for a live gig this year hopefully, and if they can surpass this album when doing the songs live on stage, then any other band on the bill ain't got a chance in hell.
NoiseMatters rated:
(5/5)
