29th June - Drain S.T.H.'s Freaks of Nature

Artist – Album: Drain S.T.H. – Freaks of Nature

Released:  29^th June 1999

Sounds Like: The Corrs if they were a Swedish metal band

Ah man, I thought I’d left the days of forcing myself to listen to some European metal band far behind me. However, after a month in which the standard of the albums has steadily declined, I’ve been left with a choice between two albums of questionable quality. Lootpack’s Soundpieces: Da Antidote has its moments (naturally, it comes courtesy of the excellent and prolific Madlib), but with 24 tracks it is waayyy too long, and I was honestly bored less than halfway through. The alternative though, is Drain S.T.H., a Swedish all female metal band, that are critically acclaimed but surely, surely, are shit (just look at that album cover – it’s like a vampire Dixie Chicks). I found myself facing the anti-Sophie’s Choice – I want desperately to destroy them both but I must decide which one will be kept alive by virtue of a blog post.

I surprised even myself for plumping with the girly rockers but, to be fair, their effort is a lot better than I had assumed. I say that in a relative sense, I mean, I wouldn’t think to give record a spin again unless multiple guns were pointed at my head, but it’s not half bad. Their particular brand of metal is grungey and accessible, having more in common with Alice in Chains than Slayer, and the vocals have enough of an edge to justify the hard rock behind them – more like Courtney Love in Hole than Evanescence.

The one huge stinker, ‘Simon Says’, is a rap metal clash, that presumably was only ever put down as that type of Limp Bizkit-y rubbish was in vogue back around the turn of the millennium. In truth though, it’s so horrific that it’s actually quite entertaining and so it doesn’t make you want to run a mile as it probably should.

Please note, in absolutely, positively, blinking no way am I recommending this album, but, you know, it ain’t that bad...

Albumaday... rating: 5/10

1.       Enter My Mind – 3:13

2.       Alive – 3:35

3.       Simon Says – 4:10

4.       I Wish... – 4:40

5.       Black – 4:07

6.       Crave – 4:21

7.       The Bubble Song – 3:28

8.       Right Through You – 4:04

9.       Leech – 4:14

10.   Get Inside – 3:23

11.   I Will Follow – 3:40

Listen to ‘I Wish...’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_BwbvLi6_Y

Also released on the 29^th June:

1999: Lootpack – Soundpieces: Da Antidote!