85%
The Judas Factor—Kiss Suicide (2000)
Details
Released on 07 April 2000 on Revelation Records. Ex-members of bands 108 and Resurrection.
Band
- Robert Fish (Rasaraja)—Vocals
- Justin Fullam—Guitar
- Little Dave—Bass
- Bill McVeigh—Drums
Tracks
- Kiss suicide
- Safety net
- One fine day
- Music without person
- When we learn to love ourselves
- November 20, 1999
Review
As I wrote in my review for SSS—The Dividing Line (2008), hardcore is “not a genre that I’ve really identified with, but I discover that when I listen to it I really like it.” Looking at the scores I’ve assigned to the four hardcore CDs I’ve reviewed so far (40%, 60%, and two 70%) shows that I perhaps should have written “I generally like it”. This CD follows that trend: I really rather like it.
This EP starts quietly, perhaps too quietly. I’m never entirely certain that it’s playing for the first 30 seconds until the band suddenly kicks in and I lurch for the volume controls as I’ve over-compensated.
I criticised Complete for the shouty vocals on their record, but as I said at the time my issue wasn’t that they were shouting as such but that the shouting was uncontrolled. The vocals on this EP are largely shouted, but crucially there is control, there are dynamics from quiet, spoken vocals to a raging yell. It works. I wouldn’t want to always listen to this kind of vocal but within the context of this EP it works.
It’s not just the vocals that are dynamic, the music itself has an interesting landscape too, from the crazy, twisted riff that opens “Music without person” to the atmospheric and thoughtful “November 20, 1999”.
There’s a lot of energy to this record; and having energy doesn’t just mean it has to be loud. There’s a drive to the songs. I get the sense that the band really enjoyed writing and playing this music, that comes across. It’s a fun record to listen to. Despite all the shouting, listening to it always seems to make me smile.
Conclusion
I’ve really enjoyed listening to this CD for the last couple of weeks. This is definitely another one that will stay in my CD collection.
It’s short, it’s punchy, it gets the message across: it’s fun, thoughtful rock and roll. More music like this please.
Review score: 85%