Posted on: March 24, 2009 Posted by: anfnewsacct Comments: 0

Imagine you pissed off an industrial kid off, and instead of turning into Trent Reznor they decided to create the hardest music they could with the instruments that they had. The Berzerker really seems to have one of those kids in their band. Instead of just being an aberration or something put in for shock value, tracks like “Follow Me” really have eir influences tied into the band at large. Sure, there may be an electronic fuzz that surrounds all the tracks on “World of Lies”, but one cannot think of The Berzerker without it. It is Slayer with the memorable drum beats or Fear Factory with the drumming that makes the band.

This is not traditional metal in any sense; it is not traditional in the sense that it goes hand has such an electronic presence, it is not metal in that many of the tracks on “World of Lies” have a thrash speed and fury to them (especially songs like “Afterlife”), and lastly, it is not metal for the fact that The Berzerker simply does not need to be pigeonholed in any way. In a sense, The Berzerker is the logical extension of what acts like White Zombie and Prong did in the late nineties; a fusion of industrial and metal. Instead of being commercially viable, like either of those bands, The Berzerker chooses to make music for music’s sake. When the band falls prey to same of the same styles that other industrial bands have exploited (like the wholescale use of quotes from movies and other TV shows), they encapsulate them in such a way that they do not seem out of place on the track. This is a marked improvement over the previous wave of acts and shows The Berzerker as a mature act ready to take on the world. If individuals want to hear the drums take on an entirely new wave of fury, “Constant Pain” is the track that needs to be put on.

“As The World Waits” is perhaps the most “clean” of tracks that The Berzerker has, and through this reduction of the fuzz that usually surrounds all aspects of the track, individuals can garner a whole new respect for the act. There are no moments of weakness on “World of Lies”, and what awaits listeners is about 40 minutes of the darkest yet most electric metal that they have ever heard.

Top Tracks: Follow Me, Afterlife

Rating: 6.8/10

[JMcQ]

The Berzerker – World of Lies / 2005 Earache / 14 Tracks / http://www.theberzerker.com / http://www.earache.com / Reviewed 04 February 2006

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