Earth Crisis
Breed the Killers (Roadrunner)
by Tim Den
With all the hype and controversy surrounding this band, it’s unnecessary to say how many approaches there are to analyze their product/message. Many arguments have been made for and against Earth Crisis, but they’ve usually dealt solely with their politics or their music, rarely combining the two. This is a shame, for it’s the very existence of these dual factors that prospective fans should inspect before deciding whether or not to like Earth Crisis. First, there is the matter of their music: no one can deny how far they’ve come. From the brainless stomp of their earlier work (anything before Gommorah’s Season Ends… yeah I know, I’m not “old school” and I’m gonna get beat up by the “gang” for not giving “props” to Firestorm), they’ve transformed themselves into a slick death machine. Who’d’ve thought the same band that recorded all that boring ass “chug-chug-chug (grinding the low-E and forgetting that the left hand goes on the guitar too)” crap would spit out such intelligent compositions as “Death Rate Solution” and the title track of this album? The multi-textured riffs, often melodic with superb rhythm changes, exhibit their innovative writing. Earth Crisis finally understand and have mastered the two-guitar-attack concept, and boy do they throw it in your face, making sure to put all their instruments to good (and individually functioning) use, and making the songs hookier and meatier. In fact, barely any metal/hardcore band has shown such knowledgeable progress in writing. I dare say that Breed the Killers may be the most well-thought-out album (musically) from the heavy music underground this year.
However, this brings me to my second point: the lyrics. Obviously the tunes are great, but many (such as myself) just cannot get past vocalist Karl Buechner’s lyrics. Take time to read what he has to say, and you’ll be convinced he never made it past middle school. His incoherent ramblings speak for themselves: he praises violence, then says he’s “making the world a more peaceful place.” Blinded by egocentric rage, he speaks of action without considering consequences. He advocates the sinking of whaling ships, but ignores the welfare of the whaler (who probably has a family to support). His limited thinking capacity and seeing issues in black and white, fails to present a well-grounded argument. He doesn’t realize that his “you bad; me good” attitude is the exact same concept he’s yelling against. “Adapt to the harshness or become one with the dust,” says “One Against All.” Yeah? I bet that’s the same line used by animal-abusing corporations. How is his argument any more convincing? Any better? Any more logical? Sure, racism is bad, but so is organizing one group (such as environmentalists) against another without understanding the entire situation. Nothing will be accomplished this way but more destruction, and no one gains from that. Let’s really think about the “two sides of war” before we pass judgment, okee-dokey?
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