Hate Dept.
The House that Hate Built (Mars Colony Music)
by DJ Arcanus
Just what the world needs – another Hate Dept. album that reinforces why they never made it big in the industrial scene. All the songs on the first CD are demos or live tracks which show the band dabbling across many genres and never achieving more than mediocrity. “More Like Me” tries to sound like Informätik, going so far as to use a Led Zeppelin sample like Informätik’s clever cover of “The Immigrant Song.” “Drew” is the most solid track, containing a number of well-placed samples, distorted vocals, and a driving beat. It sounds like something close to the earlier works of Skinny Puppy, but without the complexity that made them great. “New Power,” one of Hate Dept.’s club hits, is their failing effort to sound like KMFDM. This disc ends with a live recording of “Release It,” which starts off with a disco version of the melody from Depeche Mode’s “Strangelove.” It has a feel similar to some of the old Wax Trax classics, and I can imagine Revolting Cocks doing a much better version. Everything else on this CD ranges from hard rock to heavy metal with guitar riffs that scream “moldy cheese!”
The first two tracks on the second disc want to be X-Marks the Pedwalk, but still manage to hint at an improvement after the first disc-aster. Alas, such hopes are unfounded, as these two songs of electronic mayhem are followed by more heavy metal until the album sinks to a new low. “Cowgirl” must be a tribute to the ’80s hair bands, though ironically Mötley Crüe’s worst song is still better than this. In it, Seibold sings about getting a black eye from the fat cowgirl’s boyfriend, and I hope someone gave him another for writing this song. If he is going to be a bad ’80s rocker, the least he could do is sing about Satan or getting laid. A remix of “New Power” shows exactly how much Hate Dept. wants to be KMFDM, as female vocals are added to sound exactly like “Juke Joint Jezebel.” Next is – surprise! More heavy metal! Until the album ends with a song called “Babyfat,” the title of which indicates exactly how much growth Hate Dept. has experienced in their ten years of “music making.” The most important lesson for Hate Dept. is grow up, stop with the insulting imitations of other bands’ sounds, and to stick to a smaller range of genres on an album. If that won’t work, can’t they at least create side projects like Metal Dept. and Big Hair Dept.?
(16478 Beach Blvd. #354 Westminster, CA 92683)
