Perth ExpressOh man, thank you Teenage Disco Bloodbath Records for sending this my way because I probably would've never heard these mad Germans if you hadn't. Apparently these guys are pretty big in Germany and Europe but are relatively unknown here in the states, even though they toured the states not too long ago with Deathwish's Trap Them.
Since digesting this album, the one thing I've been wondering is where they got their name from. I am familiar with a city in Australia called Perth and throughout the layout they have railroads, so I'm guessing perhaps there is some story about Perth's railroad that I am unaware of. But I digress.
This 23-track discography-so-far totals out to be near an hours worth of tonal armageddon. It is comprised of the bands 12", 10", and 7" records as well as their rough around the edges, 4-song demo. The only duplicates to be found here are the bands four song demo that closes off the CD.
The press sheet was right on the money when it said these guys are "following in the path of bands like His Hero Is Gone, Tragedy, Mastodon, and Baroness". These guys do a masterful job of blending their far reaching influences through downtuned guitars, blastbeats, and gnarled, menacing vocals. Throughout the majority of the songs, PE are able to write short, concise songs that more often than not, are just over 2 minutes. The only songs that reach over 3-4 minutes are the ones that use the end of the song as a bridge to another song or the end of an album (See Neverending Einbahnstrasse)
The vast majority of the songs were recorded at Bremen's Kuschelrock Studio which is where the almighty Acme recorded. The recording has a striking balance of raw, gritty tones and polish. The downtuned guitars are nice and heavy, with just enough ‘dirt' on them. The drums seem to be a little low in the mix but it actually sounds pretty good. And the vocals are placed into the mix nicely.
I am always down for the DIY driven packaging and this one just screams Do It Yourself with the black recycled cardboard used to house the CD. The hand silk-screened, gold ink artwork looks fantastic. And the folded, mini-poster insert that features a variation of the picture on the front cover was a nice addition as well, and includes the lyrics in German, though there seems to be a one-line description of the lyrical theme. Overall, the packaging has a nice unique feel to it which will keep it from being lost in a large CD collection.
Rating: 4/5
Songs Worthy of Replay: Kollektivdisziplin (Track 11 and 22), U-Turn, Neverending Einbahnstrasse, and Schon Gewusst?
Synopsis: This is a great release because a) it's awesome and b) it neatly compacts everything that these guys have done in their 5 years of existence. The one downside (if you can call it that) is that it's a bit hard to listen to in one sitting unless your on a long ride to work or sitting on the computer doing a project of some sort.
If you like the bands mentioned earlier, as well as Botch, Converge, etc, this should be a welcomed addition to your collection.
Perth Express MySpace
Teenage Disco Bloodbath Records Website
TDBR MySpace