Debris Inc.
Debris Inc.
5.4
Featuring ex-Saint Vitus member Dave Chandler, and Trouble's bassist Ron Holzner, there's a plethora of big names who make their appearance on this bizarre outfit's Candlelight debut. Other artists include the widely recognized Jimmy Bower of Eyehategod, Superjoint Ritual and Crowbar, alongside Karyn Crisis, The Obsessed's Greg Rogers, Joe Nunez of November's Doom, and Trouble's Berry Stern.
So what the hell is going on here? With their rudimentary guitarwork, basement quality recording, and generic punk vocal lines, it's just sort of...well, foolish at times. Blending their masterful take on doom with dirty punk rock just doesn't seem to mesh too perfectly always. After three unenjoyable tracks, "The Old Man And His Bong" is the drowsy soulful doomy sound you'd expect after reading the band's biography, complete with stomach-churning feedback. In a frustrating twist, Debris Inc. shifts to "The Nightmare", an oddly amateurish bar-rock song that seems like it could only appeal to weathered old drunks. I can understand the band's tongue-in-cheek approach to the genre; sort of a "recording just to record" kind of a deal. I don't get why some of the songs remain of such low quality while tracks like "You're The Reason I'm Medicated", "Dime-A-Dozen", and "Shut Up" do a far better job of conveying the point of the record. They're all fun, short, and direct. Karyn Crisis uses her talents wisely on a cover of "Nausea", a song originally performed by the influential and female-fronted Los Angeles band, X. "Sickening Thud", a droning and somber song, nearly makes up for the earlier deficiencies on the record but unfortunately ends after a modest but memorable minute. The heavy six-minute "Pain" has a few peripheral moments with the vocals, but predominantly remains ear-pleasingly raw. The album finally closes after a cover of "I Love Living In The City," by another anchor in Los Angeles' music history, Fear.
Perhaps I'm just the wrong man to review this album. Although I've never been too big of a fan of bands that come across as completely humorless, I'm also unable to get into senseless acts seemingly formed simply as a joke. And despite this being a review site, that doesn't really matter though, my personal take on things is irrelevant. Joke or not, for me, Debris Inc. doesn't live up to the name of some of the bands mentioned here. Then again, it might just be something that's just not meant to be compared - rather just absorbed, comprehended, and casually enjoyed. The doom is doom done well, and the punk remains punk without being overly regressive. Ultimately, it's an unessential album that has its moments.
