| CD REVIEW Kickback |
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Band : Kickback Almost 10 years after their last release (2000’s Les 150 Passions Meutrières), Paris (France) based Hardcore act Kickback has finally picked up the threads of their career, which has had the notorious reputation of being somewhat controversial (some would say the guys’ Hatecore was/is sick to the extreme). Founded in 1991, the band around singer Stephen Bessac has seen its membership change over the years, with a total of 9 line-up “corrections”. Following their 1992 demo The Meaning Of Pain came 7-inch release No One Gets Out Alive and an untitled demo in 1993, before the band was finally allowed to profess its views upon a broader part of the world through the release of their debut CD Cornered in 1995. Sophomore album Forever War came two years later, and would be followed only by the 2000 album. As far as I know (or rather: according to the spiritofmetal.com website), the currrent line-up is completed with guitarist Waner (also active with Nevrotic Explosion, formerly with Right 4 Life), guitarist Damien “Toxic H.” (whom joined in 2007, and is also active in Arkhon Infaustus and Diapsiquir), bassist Pascale Pastore, and drummer Hervé Goardou (the picture at gsr.com only shows 3 members!, but no membership listing, and I ain’t sure the band’s own website – kickbackhc.com – still exists, because that’s become some banking website or other! So…no means to check out what happened). In the band’s own words, “…this is the most filthy and violent Kickback album to date…this is hatreed…this is pure hatred! Hatred towards the fake, the imposters, hatred towards weakness, hatred towards the morals of this disgusting modern world! But it is also joy, joy before death…unbridled lust consuming all in its path! It’s Bataille, it’s Sotos, Sade of course…it’s the seedy streets of Paris, the sleazy red lights of Bangkok or the brothels of Phnom Penh. It’s innocence in a pool of piss, it’s filth! It’s unadulterated passion burning deep and extreme disgust for all that enchains our sould! It’s an ode to new barbarism and to the beast in man, it’’s the wolves of Armageddon howling in the ruins of humanity! Sinking our teeth deep into this world of robots, leaving marks, leaving marks…”, they also very clearly state the fact that The whole mixed together in a Hardcore infused with a degree of Metal, without actually becoming typical Metalcore! Along with the couple of samples [album opening track “No Surrender” getting a French-spoken declamation midway about being either (and you’ll excuse my “French”, but it’s the band using the following descriptions) “dicks” or “cunts”, and needing either to stuff cunts or having their cunts stuffed with dicks as much as possible to make it in this world; the ensuing “Deathlust” getting a short sample (again in French) towards the end, wherein the person states that this world can only be lived upon, on the condition that nothing be respected; for the short (only 59 seconds long) “Woods Are Wet, Women Hell”, which also has a surprisingly Ambient-like (keyboards) musical filling, the guys used a Japanese bringing a short text in her own language] the guys also make use of a couple of spoken word passages [like in the short “The Audience Is The Target”, during which they simply someone repeating the words “I hate you, motherfucker” (with a fade-out towards the end) on top of a guitar’s feedback; and something almost inaudible (from a movie soundtrack?) towards the end of the album closing “Warpath”], this embellishes the whole enough to a controversial point where you start to like the band’s misanthropically geared antics…from the music point of view! Check out the couple of mp3-files (2 off the new album, 3 of older material) the band posted at myspace.com/kickback, or find out what’s available at spiritofmetal.com (should be mp3-files of both first albums and the new one, plus a couple of live videos). Nice, nice…! 98/100 Tony. |