MELTED BODIES – The Inevitable Fork

RELEASE YEAR: 2024

BAND URL: http://www.meltedbodies.com/

Who’s to say it’s impossible to make both original and catchy heavy music these days? The Californian avantgarde experimental eclectic metal quartet Melted Bodies is proof positive that it’s possible, especially with their 2nd album (after People Watching²⁰¹⁹ EP and Enjoy Yourself²⁰²⁰ debut full length), The Inevitable Fork²⁰²⁴ self-released on October 18th, a collection of weird compositions that bring both 80s disco and synth pop as well as 90s industrial metal to mind (occasionally not quite metal but very metallic in form) while heavily and liberally raiding groove, thrash, death, black metal and grindcore, with the result that feels not fully convincing as a finished product (outside of a fabulous production and mastering courtesy of John Spiker and Rob Dennler, respectively) but rather as mostly impressive work of a unique and ground breaking artist.

Now, depending on your perception for the good or bad, Andy Hamm (vocals), Ben “Diamonstein” Majoy (electronics, guitars), Scott McDonald (drums), and Houda Zakeri (bass) wear their influences on their sleeves. Vocally, we have David Bowie and Freddy Mercury with Mike Patton (Faith No More), Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails) and Al Jourgensen, Devin Townsend or maybe even Peter Tägtgren (on the Pain side of the equation in “Bloodlines”), but the self-admitted “talking” spirit of David Byrne (Talking Heads) and creepy growly Chris Barnes (ex-Cannibal Corpse) is definitely palpable throughout. Musically, we’re talking Depeche Mode, Ministry, Dream Theater and Between The Buried And Me (title track), Talking Heads, Pink Floyd, The Beatles (Talk Some More About It) Queen, Nine Inch Nails (the ending in “Think Safe” so “Closer”), Primus and Behemoth (the opening sequence in “The Hot Dog Contract”) to mention but a few most obvious ones. The best songs, such as the majestic title track, “Talk Some More About It” (practically a Pink Floyd tribute) and “Think Safe” (interestingly one directly after the other) plus the Antichrist Superstar¹⁹⁹⁶ Marilyn Mansonic “Liars”, have enough for both metal and “pretty chorus” lovers without becoming too ridiculous in either direction. Others, like the first song proper, “Bloodlines”, “The Hot Dog Contract”, “Splitting” and “Therapy” have great ideas which are offset by unnecessary and pointless instrumental “noising”, an effect particularly annoying when it comes right before a super catchy chorus or beat (“Splitting” the worst offender). Then there are three tracks that just simply don’t do it for me: the fast industrial noisey punk of “Wrath Of The Flies”, the abundantly profane “The Avalanche” which starts out like Marillion’s “Assassing” or Dire Straits’ “Money For Nothing”, then sounds like an unrated mockery of Bono in Jimmie Hendrix’s “All Along The Watchtower”, or the aimless closer “Something Is Wrong” that sounds partly like an industrial cover of Depeche Mode’s “Pimpf” partly Filter’s “Hey, Man, Nice Shot” which brings nothing new to the table and evidences that “The Inevitable Fork” could have used some generous editing for a greater impact.

The separate issue on, although simultaneously an integral part of, this disc, is it’s lyrical message. In the words of vocalist Andy Hamm, “our bloodlines, mental health, past traumas, accomplishments, and regrets eventually lead us all to choose one of this fork’s many prongs to follow. Maybe we accept that it’s all imperfect, and we embrace our flaws to make anew or try again. Or perhaps we avoid, stall, numb, or overindulge. We’ve all been told <it’s now or never,> but yet we have heard that so many times. This stigma feeds our avoidance, unaccountability, and utter laziness”. To convey this, admittedly timely and urgent message, in a manner similar to ex-Depeche Mode mastermind’s Alan Wilder’s project Recoil, come the frequent tirades of melodeclamation or furious rants of Andy Hamm as he, for instance, accurately describes narcissistic personality disorder (Splitting), but don’t psychologists warn that we are getting increasingly narcissistic in concrete prisons our beloved AI-loving laissez-faire leaders only make stronger and more frightening to live in? Finally, in order to make the opaque paranoia even more heartfelt at home, 7 out of 20 tracks are semi-instrumentals where an apparently seriously disturbed mentally sick (possibly schizophrenic) woman talks about her paranoidal perception of her surroundings, while, at the same time (therein the brilliance!) never describing anything that any one of us cannot relate to. Feeling paranoid in interpersonal relationships with fake tic toc-driven personalities en vogue? Check. Often feeling alone while surrounded by other people? Check. Self-pity, loneliness, self-loathing and shame all in one sitting? Check, check, check, check, check. Are we all crazy?