ARTIST: Combichrist
ALBUM TITLE: Making Monsters
RECORD LABEL: Metropolis Records
RELEASE DATE: September 28

By Justin Polak
Co-founder, Ambassador to the Mushroom Kingdom

Just about anything that has industrial elements in it guarantees my attention.  Early Nine Inch Nails got me into the genre as a preteen, and I have followed what has came before and after NIN since my discovery of that “band”.  Combichrist, formed in 2003, has always managed to impress me when I am in the mood for electronic-laden industrial grooves.  Their fifth outing, Making Monsters, takes the right steps forward for Combichrist while nodding the 90′s style industrial era.

“Throat Full of Glass” is a perfect example of the 90′s industrial vibe, and is my favorite track on the album.  You can be sure that this gem will be blasting from my car stereo often in the coming weeks.  Other tracks that impressed me nearly as much are “Follow the Trail of Blood”, “Never Surrender”, “Just Like Me” and “Slave to Machine.”

As a matter of fact, “Slave to Machine” is where Combichrist takes the electronic elements of the album and turns it up to 11.  Making Monsters does a great job at starting out raw, greasy and downright nasty (all in a good way, of course).  But as the album goes on it slowly turns into an electronic playground.  Both industrial and electronic ingredients are present throughout the album, but they switch roles without drawing much attention to it.

Making Monsters is like knowing that you are going out with your friends clubbing  in order to drink with the full intention of getting wasted out of your mind.  The first half of the album represents getting pumped up for the night, pre-gaming, and generally feeling like you are ready to take on the night.  Around the middle would represent crossing the line into being too drunk for your own good.  And lastly, the last few tracks would be when all bets are off.  You have probably thrown up in the bathroom, but you go back out to continue to dance.  The strobe lights do nothing but serve to confuse the shit out of you, the bouncer makes you and your buddies leave for pissing in the corner or something, and you wake up the next day lying naked in a bed that’s not yours and all your fucking money is missing.  It was one of the best nights of your life, however.  Not that my analogy is based of true events or something…

Photo: Robyn Von Swank. Courtesy of Metropolis Records.

That being said, Making Monsters is far from perfect.  While I appreciate the fact that the repetition in Combichrist’s style has toned down this time around (and yes, I understand that repetition is a cornerstone in industrial and electronic music) , some songs do seem to be a few minutes longer than they actually are.  Going back to my drunk clubbing analogy, those type of tracks are perfect for that type of setting, but doesn’t fit in well if you are simply sitting down and listening to the album, even if you only have it on for background noise.

I also wished the album had less slower tracks.  Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying those are bad songs by any means.  Making Monsters has an excellent flow to it, but I think the album would have had a perfect flow if it never slowed down.  It’s a bit jarring when you hear a faster paced electronic song followed by one considerably slower in tempo.

Those problems aside, if you like Combichrist or electronic/industrial music, you will love Making Monsters.  As said before, this album takes an underground industrial beginning and transforms beautifully into a soaring electronic trip.  Definitely don’t miss this one.

7.5/10

Front page photo: Robyn Von Swank. Courtesy of Metropolis Records.