SOCIETY 1 ‘The Sound That Ends Creation’
Earache(2005)
Before I start my review for the new release of Society 1, let me tell you that I have only managed to listen to this album a couple of times. Now, this is not normally the way that I treat a new release, and especially from a band which has a totally different musical background than the one that I'm really into. I have to admit, though, that this is one of the few times in my involvement as a music journalist, that I admit that I'm unable to put an extra effort into a new release. The reason will become more obvious if you continue reading this review.
Society 1 are inhabitants of the American continent and have already one previously released album ("Exit Through Fear"- 2003) to their name, also with Earache Records. Having been compared by many music magazines of their country with acts like Korn, Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson and even the legendary Doors (!!???!!!), I expected to come across a mixture of industrial and nu Metal sounds which was pretty much the case. Now, I am not a big fan of this style of music, but I think that I'm experienced enough to know when a band has something good to offer and Society 1 simply don't belong in that category. On the other hand, I can understand why such a band will be received with open arms by the music industry, especially in the States. It seems that in the year 2005, the industry is more interested in signing bands which are able to provide the audience with visual satisfaction, but this is not ‘news’ anyway.
Even though "The Sound that Ends Creation" consists of twelve songs, it was only "Let Me Live" and "No Father" that did manage to make me raise an eyebrow a little bit, due to the fact that they sound groovy enough to have been composed by a band like Monster Magnet - nothing original or earth shattering, though. Ah, there is also an instrumental composition called "Enraptured" which sounds so terribly similar to "Eruption" from the first Van Halen album, that even Eddie Van Halen may feel motivated enough to actually sue them… The rest of the songs didn't even manage to become annoying to my ears with the exception of "6 Months", where the statement "f*ck the world" was mentioned more times than I can possibly [choose to] remember.
Now, call me old fashioned or even weird, but I still believe that being a proper artist is a blessing, and I simply cannot tolerate people or bands who enjoy publicity or success, in return for giving us pretty much nothing worth listening to. I want to apologise to Matt Zane and the rest of the members of Society 1 for not doing them a favour by writing this review, but I don't think that it's really my fault. I also believe that Matt has more chances of making a successful career in the porn industry (apparently before he decided to torture us with his music, he was a highly acclaimed porn director), than as a music composer. Enough said.
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Review by John Stefanis
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