Trust Obey

Hands of Ash (Fifth Column)
by Chris Best

This is a concept album. One that is as dull and lifeless as the State of Missouri that spawned the artist responsible. Every song (except for the last) is prefixed with “Hands Of…” (i.e.: “Hands of Fire,” “-Clay,” “-Glory,” “-Malice,” “-Ash,” and “-Iron.”). Of the bunch, I liked “Hands Of Clay” the best. It clocked in at just 6:07, making it the shortest track on the album. Oh, I didn’t mention that, did I? All the songs are really long (9-16 minutes). The music reminds me of RevCo without the sense of humor or Iron Butterfly’s “In-a-Gadda-Da-Vida,” only more annoying. A tip to Mr. John Bergin (who IS Trust Obey), just because the CD format allows for over 70 minutes of music, it doesn’t mean you have to use all of it. I tried cranking up the album, I tried turning it down. Only turning it off made it sound better. By track 7 (“Hands Of Iron”), Mr. Bergin (did I mention that he IS Trust Obey?) was singing “Lord above, I pray to you: Kill me now. Kill me. Kill me. Kill me. Kill me now.” I believe in the right to die. More precisely, I believe in Mr. Bergin’s right to die. If you’re in a record store and you’re looking to find the most mediocre piece of crap industrial release that serves no purpose except as a tax write-off for the record company, this is the disc for you.