Bile

Biledegradeable (Energy)
by Rebekah Sue Harris

Biledegradeable, the “bastard stepchild of Teknowhore ,” should have been aborted in its first trimester. In keeping with the metaphor, Mutha Krysztoff (yes, he’s changed the spelling of his name again) did his usual brilliant work in the studio, but with Father Slave barely involved in production, Bile is missing half the chromosomes necessary for a decent disc. (For those of you fans don’t know, there was some kind of falling out, and Slave is sadly absent.) This, ahem, “work,” is as far from the genius of Teknowhore as some of those monotonous grind bands are from opera. I’ve seldom experienced such disappointment.

I don’t understand how a band with two CDs can issue a “greatest hits” kinda deal (a coupla new songs with a coupla old songs) with a cover song thrown in. ‘Scuse me – thrown in TWICE. The studio work isn’t bad, but the whole mess has the rushed feel of a term paper that’s been put off until the last minute. Were they that compelled to release something “new?” I heard this stuff on the Whore Tour, as did many of their fans.

“As my personal tastes change, so does Bile,” Krysz claims in the bio. He knows that punk is “an attitude, it’s a lifestyle, not a sound or a fashion,” but then why is he producing something so trendy? What’s with that overture in the beginning? This isn’t Broadway…

I listened to Biledegradeable three times, each time hoping that my memory had failed me and that this CD wasn’t as bad as I remembered. “Fascion” caught my ear, and it’s more of what I want from Bile. I guess “The Phantom God” is tolerable. As for the rest of the CD, they’re going to kill me for saying this, but as a reporter, my job is to report: Both covers of “My Generation” sound like Anal Cunt. There, I’ve said it. I’m sorry, but it’s true.

Playing this CD in search of music is like wiping your ass with a sponge. It does the job, but only once, and you’ve got a handful of shit that isn’t worth anything – nor is it biodegradable.

I know this band is capable of better stuff. I’ve listened to this band since its pre- Suckpump demo, from the old club days. Hell, I still have my old E.X.E. record, back from when R. H. Bear was still R. H. Boeckel. Yes, the band needed to evolve; beings that don’t are doomed to extinction. But this? Bring back “Submission.” I’m not the only one who misses the earliest stuff.

Von, Jaymz, we beg of you, can’t you talk some sense into Bear and Krysz and Brett? Bile used to be one of *THE* best bands. This atrocity began with your inclusion. But you’re so talented, with Jaymz ticklin’ those plastics as well as our fancies, and live Von is so much better than preprogrammed drumming. The problem simply cannot be you. Either your bandmates are slipping, or the problem really is the absence of Slave.

I’m not going to any Bile shows if this is what they’re playing. I’ll save my money for the Biledegradeable follow-up, and hope that this was a one-time mistake.

Krysz refers to this release by saying that they are “… constantly looking to the future. Biledegradeable is where we are now.”

Buy a time machine.