Review of Bathtub Shitter - Lifetime Shitlist

"Would you like to swing on a Star
Carry Moonbeams home in a jar
You could be better off than you are"

Or would you rather be a Bathtub Shitter?

Vexing question indeed. Here is Grindcore that actually belongs more to the punk/noise side of the style than the metal side. In fact, were it not for the guttural vocals and blast beats I would just call this noisepunk and be done with it. It's about as out of control and sloppy as you could want from a real punk band (as opposed to what one finds on any given Warped Tour) and it succeeds in being difficult to listen to and removed from anything remotely mainstream. But it fails as a metal album.

Take that for what it's worth, because I have a lot of respect for honest punk and hardcore, even the unlistenable stuff. It has been one of my chosen styles when I have played with local bands and such. And while Metal and Punk compliment each other, they are quite different in content and execution. Grindcore manages to walk a fine line, when done correctly, between these two styles, taking what it needs from both. But when one side dominates the other as is the case for Bathtub Shitter, it fails to be anything relevant at all.

What you have here, basically, is a guttural/screeching singer, a haphazard bassist, a more often than not decent drummer and a guitarist playing simple riffs and Ramones melodies sloppily. The most fascinating aspects of the disc are the singer's shattering screeching and the occasional tension built into some of the songs. The combination makes for a kind of terrified desperation which is effective for short periods - like a glimpse into someone else's nightmares. But ultimately it all ends up heading into the same mess of songstyling.

The production is gritty and leaves all the tone and texture completely to the band. This isn't Nasum or Leng T'che, with the thick, soggy sounding production that overwhelms. It's simple and live. Again, this might be something a true anarchistic punker would really get into, but this is a metal site and we are metalheads. And this disc is not for us.

Bottom Line: If you desire manic anarchy and anti-everything musical expression, this is a disc worth looking at. But if you also value musicianship and craft, this is a bus accident. For the metal among us, I have to advise against this record.

Release Details

Bathtub Shitter

Lifetime Shitlist

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