Minus: The Great Northern Whalekill
Thursday, 03 Apr 2008 18:31
Target in sight: The Great Northern Whalekill
One Little Indian, out March 3rd.
In a nutshell…
Stripped-down rock and roll.
What's it all about?
Essentially, Minus offer a no-frills brand of rock and roll, a mix of the old school sensibilities of Priestess and the sludgy stoner rock of Orange Goblin. All the songs are of a similar tempo, providing little in the way of genuine variety, but fans of the genre will care not a jot for this – after all, pure AC/DC-style rock and roll isn't put out to amaze critics with swirling soundscapes and Floyd-esque prog tomfoolery.
Who's it by
Minus have been described by Kerrang! as the "first great rock 'n' roll gang of the 21st century. They have supported bands like Metallica, Foo Fighters and Queens of the Stone Age, first touring the UK in 2002. First making their breakthrough on the Sugarcubes' Smekkleysa label (with second album Jesus Christ Bobby), which was an exercise in screamo, they have toned down this approach for a more conventional rock sound. Fans are divided as to whether the new albums are better than the early material.
As an example…
The lyrics aren't really profound or searching for 'meaning'. Just plain rock and roll lyrics that don't stand up to critical reading, but that is no bad thing. The opening cut, Cat's Eyes, exemplifies this, with the chorus's refrain "I want to live in the cat's eyes" not exactly describable as Dylan-esque
Likelihood of a trip to the Grammys
Minus have been like manna from heaven for the critics, with numerous publications lauding them to the heavens as saviours of rock, the freshest thing on the menu and so on. Despite this, they won't be winning any mainstream awards until they sell out and release a pop single. Hopefully, this won't happen.
What the others say
"The coolest sounding left-field rock band around." – Kerrang
"Minus are a welcome blast of March-fresh air, their maelstrom of thrash guitars and magisterially tortured vocals enough to leave cheeks burning and throats gasping for breath." – Q
"It's tough to imagine Minus picking up loads of new fans with their fourth album." – Drownedinsound.com
So is it any good?
I don't see Minus as being a breath of fresh air for rock/metal, despite the critical praise. At the very least The Great Northern Whalekill (TGNWK) isn't evidence of this. Compare it to other, similar bands. Priestess have a more solid sound and Orange Goblin capture the stoner aesthetic more accurately. TGNWK is a decent stoner effort, with good pace and guitar work, but there is no standout moment. At no point did I ever feel "Wow, that rocks" or really get into the album. Their lo-fi approach to production values has, as usual, been praised by most media outlets, but this reviewer doesn't like it. Forcing low production values on an album for the sake of it doesn't impress me, it is just gimmicky... and they aren't really that low anyway (just check out Mayhem's De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas or Darkthrone's Transilvanian Hunger if you want dreadful production on an album). The reference to The Great Southern Trendkill by Pantera kind of backfires as well, reminding us how much better that album is than Minus' effort.
The album is decent, but average nonetheless. Those seriously into stoner and/or old school rock will get something out of it. I just question how much.
5/10
Dave Brown
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