EP
Of all of the songs recorded by multi-talented, multiple-personality-disorder-laden alt-rock band Faith No More, the most perniciously evil in execution and intent was surely ‘Jizzlobber’ from still-lauded album ‘Angel Dust’. A searing mix of industrial strength guitars, a vocal performance that pre-empted Marilyn Manson’s icy gargle and a closing classical coda still able to send shivers down the spine, the track was an album (and career) highlight. Whether this Jizzlobber borrowed the name intentionally or otherwise from that hellish song, it seems entirely fitting that the most terrifying of FNM’s recorded output should become nominally linked with an outfit for whom Neurosis, Isis and Tool are all close bed fellows. Sludgy of demeanour, obsidian in outlook and utterly remorseless in their intent to crush the life and spirit out of the listener with a set of five bruising tracks, Jizzlobber (whatever the story behind the name) rule and this EP is a brilliant summation of their talents.
Hailing from France and having found a home on Superstrong Records (home of dark sludge uber-lords Crown), Jizzlobber are not shorn of inspiration on this brutally heavy outing. Here you will find harrowing screams, full-blooded riffs and even snatches of unexpected but entirely welcome melody. As fearsome as they come and yet not entirely impenetrable – Jizzlobber have the potential to gain a large and loyal following if they continue to produce material of this quality.
Opening track ‘(interceptor) heat combustion’ sets the tone perfectly, taking the grinding riffs of Botch and Cave In but setting them to more conventional time signatures, meaning that this is music that is both crushingly abrasive and perfect fodder for the mosh pit. As dark and ugly as a rainy night in an alleyway behind a crack den, the howling screams penetrate the gloom briefly before becoming obscured by the murk and the result is a track that leaves you feeling simultaneously filthy and elated – an odd sensation. ‘2:20 AM’ takes a more subtle approach, opening with a dusty, almost country feel before exploding into the sort of riff that Zakk Wylde tears out when he’s in a particularly mean mood, only to subvert it under layers of effects. It’s brutal stuff, but here the vocals are more human in their delivery, the song’s melody low in the mix but present enough to keep things memorable as well as brutal. The misleadingly titled ‘glorious’ is, in matter of fact, a dark, sinewy monster of echoing guitars and post-rock melodies. Part Tool, part My Dying Bride, part Isis, it is the centrepiece of this EP and it showcases the diverse elements that make up Jizzlobber, the clean vocal only serving to add greater depth and texture to the track.
Of the final two tracks ‘hamming code’ is a Mastadon-aping beast of vocal harmonies, complex, twisted riffs and pounbding percussion whilst final track ‘Nerd’ is the fastest of the tracks, the riffs coming thick and fast and the vocals a neat cross between Helmet and Tool, the dry-as-kindling riffs also redolent of the former band shot through with hints of Botch’s atonal attack and Neurosis’ paranoia-laden soundscapes at their ost confrontational. It’s a hell of a conclusion to one hell of an EP.
Overall Jizzlobber form a perfect bridge between the oblique soundscapes of neurosis and the more conventional sludge of Down. There are dark melodies here, although they often lurk at the bottom of a syrupy mix that has been perfectly engineered by the band; huge crushing riffs; pounding rhythms and lurching bass; all of which combine to reveal a claustrophobic, but viscerally exciting sound. A powerful and brutally honest work, Jizzlobber are a band that sludge fiends will want to seek out at the earliest opportunity – trust us, you’ll play it till the sky turns black.
Find out more here: http://www.facebook.com/Jizzlobberband
