Channeling the brutal rhythms of the Jesus Lizard and
rendering the power-trio format to its very essence is always going to get an
approving nod from your truly, but the point where I want to smack you across
the face to take notice of the band Metz is almost immediately after the first
listen of their self-titled debut.
And what a coincidence! The album begins with the driving
“Headache,” which perfectly kicks things off with Hayden Menzies’ drumming, a
man who hammers the skins like a dimwitted cousin of Dave Grohl-and that’s a compliment.
Menzies is usually joined at the hip with bassist Chris
Slorach who is a one trick pony of quarter notes and piston simplicity-and
that’s a compliment too.
But the band’s creative and chief noise monger is Alex
Edkins who manages to sound like his destroying his larynx and his amplifier
simultaneously. Nonstop. For a solid half-hour.
Edkins doesn’t share Yow’s garbled rambles in his own
vein-popping delivery. His is very précise and channeled, but as cathartic as
his screaming is, Metz contains a very intentional pop
element. It does little to minimize the very real power these three Toronto residents present
on their full-bodied document, but it does wonders for repeated listens.
They could retire now and feel good about having their only
recorded history be a worthy artifact. But let me be selfish for a moment and
say, that I hope the band is able to pound the collective Jesus out of this
thing on the road and still have something that’s at least half as good as this
debut.
There’s a very clear indication that this band can take
their path in any number of different directions. Whatever path happens to be, Metz
will shine bright throughout their career and has the potential to inspire
others to examine the fertile grounds of whiplashed post-punk rhythms and
channeled dissonant aggression.
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