Slip This On and Rock Hard

(Slipdisc)
by Scott Hefflon

Formed in 1995, Slipdisc has come so far so fast, it almost makes ya nervous. Combining David and Frank Chackler’s background with Queen, Mötley Crüe, and Fleetwood Mac, producer Neil Kernon’s background with Queensrÿche, Judas Priest, and Flotsam and Jetsam, and now a distro deal with Mercury/PGD, Slipdisc is obviously on the move. Slip This On and Rock Hard shows the industrial side of Slipdisc (while, on the side, doing distro for other labels including their own electronica spin-off called Lost in Bass, formed with Jason Novak and Jamie Duffy of Acumen Nation and DJ? Acucrack).

Slip This On... opens with Rorschach Test‘s “Satan,” a mid-tempo cruncher similar to Skrew, which leads into N17‘s manic “Version 1.2,” a song on par with any of the great tracks on Ministry’s Psalm 69, followed by Nihil‘s “Nowhere to Hide,” a haunting song pouring like thick liquid hate over metal riffs and pounding drums. Mary’s Window‘s “Penny Red” leans more toward sparse, dramatic rumbling, offset in the chorus by an apathetic monster monotone, which is followed by Final Cut‘s “It Comes Too,” another minimalist verse/overflowing-chorus song filled with stalking beats and shotgun guitars. 13 mg.‘s “Way Down,” is a more complex song with head-bobbin’ beats broken up with breathing room and a singable melody. For some reason, I’m thinking Filter here. Then we double back for second tracks by everyone (often remixed by DJ? Acucrack), and close with The Clay People playing “Car Bomb” live (with a live drummer), sounding, at times, like stripped-down White Zombie in the verses and barrel-chested metal in the chorus. The disc winds down with a smoking guitar solo and the question, “Am I human?”
(101 W. Grand Ave. 6th Fl. Chicago, IL 60610)