The
Grinning Sadist Presents . . .
In
the Eyes of God
Relapse
(1999)
Grade:
B
Here it is - the soundtrack
for the end of the world. Aural Armageddon. Or as one wordsmith at Relapse
dubbed it, "the funeral march for the masses." Not that we would expect
anything less from the Rev. Steve "Not Stone Cold" Austin, who comes across
as the type of personality who would willfully lock himself down in an
ironclad bunker brandishing enough weapons to successfully kick off the
next World War.
One of the most
remarkable qualities about In the Eyes of God, however, is that
he seems even more deranged. More pissed off. And more paranoid. Perhaps
this is in part due to a shift in musical emphasis, the screeching guitars
doing more of the damage than in the past. Of greater importance, however,
is the new members of the militia Austin has recruited for maximum musical
destruction: Bill Kelliher on bass and, particularly, Brann Dailor on skins,
who has to be one of the most perfect drummers I have heard in quite
some time.
From a musical perspective,
In the Eyes of God is as dark, menacing and creepy as the "Sweet
Jesus" staring from the cover, a messiah with gouged out, blackened eyes
and ram horns unceremoniously strapped to its head. In short, the same
schizophrenic formula that has brandished the band with such infamy, only
escalated to even more abusive extremes. A millennial molotov cocktail.
And while a smattering of the songs approach or exceed the three minute
mark, such as the opening title track and the seven-minute plus "Going
to Hell," most are abbreviated outbursts, abrupt, 1-2 minute explosions
that detonate quickly before moving on towards the next shrapnel blast.
Perhaps In the
Eyes of God can accurately be labeled "guerilla warfare with nuclear
weapons." And while my militaristic metaphors may be getting old, the CD
does not. In my mind, one of the highlights of the millennium's less than
glamorous end.
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