Pitch Shifter
Infotainment (Earache)
by Paul Lee
There’s nothing quite like the Pitch Shifter experience. Part electronically enhanced dance music, part brutal thrashcore, it’s music to engulf the flaccid squids of the world. Pitch Shifter combine their vehemence in a distinctive way. This is full-length release #2 on Earache and Infotainment keeps blazing the unique path that Pitch Shifter have garnered respect and notice for. Is it industrial? Could be. How about metal? Sort of. Then what the hell is it, you may ask? Just subject yourself to the Pitch Shifter experience and find out for yourself.
In 1994, the Nottingham, England-based band released the terrifying Desensitized, an album that proved that there was more to be spawned with the cross-pollination of metal-techno-hardcore. Without sounding like anyone in the industrial realms, Pitch Shifter staked their own territory and tore the attention of jaded music critics and harsh music fans everywhere. Infotainment furthers this unholy concoction in Pitch Shifter’s unique style. Guitarist/ programmer J.A. Carter unleashes an unmistakable guitar crunch that rivals the heaviest and hardest grindcore merchant. His programming and sampling are equally adept. Fortunately, bassist M.S. Clayden’s bottom end is as vital and prominent as Carter’s guitar work and as skull-pulverizing. The drumming and rhythms are left to ‘D’ J. Walters who bashes his kit like an acoustic/electronic percussionist from Hades. And of course, who could forget the roar of singer (and brother of M.D.) Clayden who spews forth his lyrics and bile in a smooth-to-psychotic vocal style that showcases a range that’s greatly improved since Desensitized.
The power of Pitch Shifter’s message is hard to ignore. In addition to the bludgeoning riffs and rhythms, Pitch Shifter’s lyrical approach is just as uncompromising. They have venom in their words, yet espouse intelligent and positive messages. First and foremost, Pitch Shifter are about promoting individuality in an age of uniformity and lack of free-thought. Songs like “We’re Behaving Like Insects” attack the establishment and the lambs who fall to the slaughter. “Product Placement” is an unmitigated attack on companies like McDonald’s who shove their vile garbage-disguised-as-food down the minds and throats of children and adults who don’t know any better.
With all the hype surrounding alien contact, Pitch Shifter have their own take on the subject with “Hangar 84.” They approach with interest and open-mindedness the possibility that a UFO crashed at Roswell, New Mexico back in 1947. Using samples from a TV special about the covered-up incident, Pitch Shifter bring the electronics-dominated jungle music style into the mix to create a weird and haunting song.
In keeping with their progressive and novel approach, Pitch Shifter have appended 120 samples of various kinds to the end of the CD to be used freely by anyone. If you dig samples, it’ll be of great use. Otherwise this neat little idea for some is a pain if you want to put your CD player on random play. Also, there’s a multimedia track on Infotainment that is actually disappointing. I expected so much more from Pitch Shifter in regards to multimedia.
Other than these two minor problems, Infotainment is one of the most powerful albums of ’96. More than likely, Pitch Shifter will open many minds and cause many to think more about the state of the world around us. Truly, there ain’t nothin’ like ’em. Hopefully Pitch Shifter will hit our shores and crush us with their wonderful brutality soon. If they are good examples of what’s still coming out of Earache Records and England in general, there’s still hope left for the industrial and extreme music world.
