AMEN - Death Before Musick
May 17, 2004, 20 years ago
(Columbia)
The self-mutilating and self-medicating Casey Chaos has had as crazy a music business life as he's had as a zonked out tour bus bleeder. But when focused, he's pretty damn talented, having assembled this album pretty much by himself (playing everything except drums), from a straight jacket holding pen of (apparently) 73 songs. As per the first two records, Death Before Musick is a slamming, seething punky metal tour de force, living large, anthemic, shouty, energy-soaked from the vocals on down through the caustic guitars, the immediate cymbal-punched percussion, and the metal on metal production. What's cool now is the track record, Amen sounding like no other band, although if touchstones are to be mentioned, look to Killswitch, Slipknot, Dope, heavier System and Rage, and even the new Swedish-influenced American metalcore. And with the guy's leering rant vocals (a bit of Lydon and Biafra in there) and his self-flagellating lyrics, this is a cut above, not fake, the voice of blacker than blackout experiences Casey can have to himself, thanks.
