SabreteethBased out of San Francisco, this trio plays an experimental instrumental sound that is comprised of punk, metal, noise, and elements of improvisational jazz. They have been together since the spring of 2004 and have released a pre-demo, a 7", and this live album right here. This live CD-r is one of six in a series that will be released by Ratskin Records over the next six months.
The trio is influenced by The Birthday Party, King Crimson, John Zorn, Black Flag, Neurosis, Cocteau Twins, and Mahjonng. There are 5 tracks that total close to 40 minutes, but I have no idea what the song titles because they were not provided in the layout.
There has been very few live albums that have been released that I actually enjoyed and most of them were hardcore/metal releases. This kind of music doesn't really translate all that great into the live setting when you have so much effects and what have you. I mean if you were actually seeing these guys it may have sounded better in person but I wasn't feeling the quality of this. The drums did sound surprisingly good but they were too loud and drowned out of the guitar and bass.
They could've done much more for this release. It is simply a slim jewel case with a CD-R that has a white print out sticker with the band and album title in black to cover it's face. The front cover has an image I can't make out. It would've been nice to have some credits like where it was recorded at, the songs included etc,.
Rating: 3/5
Songs Worthy of Replay: Track Three and second half to track 4
Synopsis: I'm not typically big into live recordings, I'd much rather have a good studio sound. I like what these guys are about and the songs they craft are right up my alley but the recording quality is just not that good. The layout could've been a little better too, perhaps some song titles, information on where it was recorded at, etc,. This will most likely be out of print soon since only 50 were pressed, so be on the lookout for their new 7", "Fresh Roadkill". Check out the bands myspace, www.myspace.com/sabreteeth as well as their label www.ratskin.org