Eminence

Humanology (Two Fat Men)
by Scott Hefflon

Another good find from Two Fat Men. Second full-length by this generically-titled band from Brazil boasting ex-members of Sepultura and Overdose, who I always thought shoulda caught on more, but must’ve gotten a shitty record deal or something. Sepultura has been on autopilot for over a decade, churning out mindless albums, each dumber than the last, and Chaos A.D. and Roots, while genre-bending at the time, were pretty simplified from their heyday anyway, let’s be honest here. So while it ain’t gonna set the world on fire, Eminence doesn’t fit the template of either American metalcore or Euro-thrash, and therefore it seems fresh, even if it’s kinda standard down-tuned stomp’n’stutter. Various “Walk”-style riffs and vaguely tribal grooves, and dumbass “get the fuck outta my face” lyrics, but Sepultura always had dumb lyrics (“what goes around, comes around” was so profound to them that they stopped the music to say it, and I always cough and shuffle my feet, embarrassed to listen to such drivel), and there’s plenty of “modern day” dumb stuff, like “wa-ca-ca-ca” skatting “for the kids.” 17 songs, plenty to like, plenty to let slide, anyone who likes Ill Nino oughtta dig this. They’ve got enough flash to compensate for the lame name (like Slipknot, Disturbed, or Soulfly are anything but two syllable grunts their meathead fans can spell. In crayon.)
(www.twofatmen.com)