It's now time for our 167th monthly CD review at The Sault Metal Scene, as we're looking at local industrial metal solo project
Molten Imp and goregrind solo act
Crucify The Whore's split
"Pyrolytic Punishment"! Following a series of virtual singles from the former and 16 prior releases from the latter, the two acts came together for this split, released in full on February 12th across both bands' Bandcamp pages through C.T.W.'s label
Blood Shed Productions. Recorded at each project's home studio, Molten Imp are represented as ever by ex-Algoma guitarist Boyd Rendell (a.k.a. Lord Unterbiss von Wigwaus), while C.T.W. are still led by Rotopsy/Brutally Fatal alum Tyler "Ringsnaps" Gibson. As each half was released separately by each act, "Pyrolytic Punishment" is on sale with two different pricepoints, being $7.50 on Molten Imp's end and on a "name your price" model for C.T.W.'s.
In that respect, the minimum you can pay for the whole album is $7.50, as "name your price" albums can be downloaded for free, but consider paying for C.T.W.'s half to support Tyler's work! Both halves can be streamed for free there as well. The album proper runs for about 44 minutes across 15 songs, so let's begin with Molten Imp's five song half!
The split opens with "Winter XX-XXII XX-XXIII" (2022-2023), which is the latest in Molten Imp's suite of "Winter" songs begun on prior singles. This is basically a dark synth soundscape for its first half before industrial effects pipe in that sound like a cyberpunk Jaws, even throwing a bit of the Winkies' chant from The Wizard of Oz in there, among other noises. I like my Molten Imp to have more guitar than this, but it definitely sets a tone, and it's on brand in that respect! Next is "Colorful Snow (More Acid)", which Boyd did not use the Canadian spelling of (i.e. "Colourful"), for what that's worth. The shortest track on this side, this is more of a proper song featuring sampled lyrics reflecting why the snow is colourful, plus someone asking for two spoons, and some very guttural & inaudible vocals that sound like they may as well be on the C.T.W. half! Musically, this is a drum & bass song with melodic (if harsh) synths.
This song is definitely more interesting and varied than the opener, and while not really a guitar showcase, it's certainly original with a good groove to it! Third is "Ankle Deep", which is by far the heaviest song on offer so far, complete with more of those guttural growls that popped up on "Colorful Snow". If it wasn't for the heavy effects on the track (which sounds like analog TV static), this would be a good grindcore song foundation! It's also a slowly paced track, which will please old AlgomA fans. While this is my favourite song so far, it does stretch a little too long, and the static overtop does it no favours, especially with the vocals hard enough to make out. Fourth up is "Pedestrian Blues (EYEHATETRUCKS)", which is capitalized and spelled like that. I take it Boyd's an Eyehategod fan? If you hear the voice of Norm MacDonald, it's not just you, a Late Show with David Letterman interview with him is sampled throughout
Between the sampled bit about a car crash and the heavier industrial metal on offer to start, I was reminded of "Jesus Built My Hotrod" early, but that gets swapped out for a repetitive lower riff that gives me the vibe of a vehicle's ignition stalling over and over. It's a shame that the more interesting opening gave way to this, as it really drags until the last two minutes, with percussion-led aggression and heavily distorted growling that almost sounds like a vicious dog barking. Here, the drum track dictates too much of the pace, and I'd have upped the backing instruments, and not went back to the stalled ignition riff cutting in and out with a harsh tone. Good elements here but a very inconsistent number, not helped by this being Molten Imp's longest song on the split. Their half closes with
a reprise of "Winter XX-XXII XX-XXIII", which is very similar to the original track #1, but is a little longer and has lighter (if still abrasive) effects.You may hear some ghostly background chatter and slightly more discordant noise, but it has less of the marching qualities of the original, so side with your favourite here (also, I think Boyd forgot an I in "XX-XXIII" on track #1 on Bandcamp). Not my preferred Molten Imp style, but it does come full circle on their side of the split!
Before we move into Crucify The Whore's side of this split, I wanted to preface this by noting that this is my first
ever proper review of one of their albums on the site, and it's not out of any malice or ill will towards Tyler or Blood Shed Productions. Honestly, from an early stage, I found C.T.W.'s studio material to be critic-proof as both art and as a personal statement, given the decidedly anti-commercial music on offer, the minimalist recording and performing setup, and their often defiantly controversial lyrics and cover artwork. To a point, I feared that there was only so much that I could say about C.T.W. as a studio project, given the heavy reliance on pig squealed vocals, a drum machine, often intentionally short song lengths, lo-fi recording methods, and the projected themes in their lyrics. Therein lies the challenge: reviewing a C.T.W. album without patronizing or coming off like an ill-informed schmuck. Fingers crossed that I pulled it off!
Song one on this side is "River Valley Slaughter", which is more of a straightforward metal track with a strong riff and clear recording quality (I know this has improved greatly from Tyler's early studio work), but the pig squealed vocals will not be to everyone's taste, and they recur frequently on C.T.W.'s albums. They are not loud in the mix, and sometimes sound more like a quiet motor, so make of that what you will. Musically, Tyler's talent as a metal composer is on good display here and he varies things well despite not playing a solo or anything! Next up is "Gash Basher" (I didn't title it!), which runs for an album-low 40 seconds in length. This is more of an experimental metal song with more prominent grunting and an abrupt closing sequence that feels like the song ended way too soon. Despite a brief guitar solo, this was a little too out there compared to what I like in death metal, especially for its brevity.
Third on this side is
"Pan Handle Pimpin'", which opens with sampling of Dr. Phil McGraw dressing down a guest on his talk show, which basically replaces the vocals in the first half. In effect, this is a two halved song, with the sample heavy opening being more electronic based and the latter dipping into Tyler's goregrind wheelhouse. I definitely preferred the metal half, which has more of a structure to it than the preceding, and the vocals were better used there! Next is
"Thanks For The Heads Up", the first of three straight sub-1:40 tracks. This one is a straightforward metal song that doesn't take any major chances and seems to end before it really gets going. Still solidly composed and entertaining for genre fans, but the pig squealing will be a liability for many. That is followed by
"Fetal Rejection" (again, I didn't title it!), which shakes things up musically by merging some techno experimentation with a brief guitar solo.
The last 20 seconds of this is basically an ominous dissipation that will be silent at the wrong volume, so keep that in mind. There were some very interesting ideas here for more of a hybrid cybergrind track, but it ended way too soon. Song #6 is "Spending The Weekend Alone", which opens with 30 seconds of sampled audio from the Seinfeld episode "The Merv Griffin Show". The track proper chugs along at a good and steady pace with intense & fast drum programming (imagine if a real drummer was on this!) While short, this is one of my favourite songs compositionally on C.T.W.'s half! Next is "From Creation To Cremation", which is one of the longer and more fully realized songs on offer, with a stronger riff and structure and heavy breakdowns worthy of a old school Oddfellows Hall mosh pit! It ends somewhat abruptly, but if you want some live-ready grindcore intensity, this will do it, and it's a highlight on this side!
"What The Frig" is next, which runs for a little over 5 minutes, thusly C.T.W.'s longest cut here and an epic for their standards! This will please fans of Tyler's techno-inspired work early, though the first minute is largely focused around heavily pitched down samples of two guys talking. When the song dips into metal territory, news coverage of the 2019 Dayton, Ohio mass shooting is sampled extensively in the middle (shame that some of the best guitar work on the album is under that!) This is functionally an instrumental with no pig squealing whatsoever, and it gets into more experimental soundscape territory by the end. I'd have focused on the death metal middle and expanded that out without the sampling, but of course, provocative references to current events are not new to C.T.W.'s material and presentation, so keep that in mind. Inconsistent for my tastes but, again, Tyler musically shines in the middle here!
The penultimate song on the split is "A Death Worth Dying", which is a pure instrumental without even sampled dialogue. As a pure musical showcase of Tyler's skills and programming ability, it does the job in a relatively short span, and while he doesn't break out a solo here like on preceding cuts, the death metal attack comes through well with good pacing! "Pyrolytic Punishment" closes with "CxTxWx", another instrumental that chugs along through 108 seconds of death metal and does a fine job of it too! The riff is catchy and it feels like Tyler saved some of his best, straightforward metal for last here, so things end on a good note!
So, what are my closing thoughts on Molten Imp & Crucify The Whore's split? For my musical tastes, it's inconsistent on both sides, but there's a lot to like for genre fans who know what to expect! On the former side, Boyd stuck to his usual pattern of industrial electronica with hints of extreme metal, and while I didn't get much out of the "Winter" songs, the middle three straddled genre lines well, and I'd point fans to "Ankle Deep" as my favourite song on offer! Granted, I do prefer Boyd's prior work in bands like AlgomA and BeeFMouTH, but neither of those bands were as experimental and gave this much to talk about, so that counts for something! As for C.T.W., while I hadn't formally reviewed an album of theirs previously, I can safely say that Tyler has grown a
ton as a musician in the past decade, and compared to their earliest material, you can see and hear it very clearly. It even shows in the cover artwork if you look at them all!
The vocals will be an acquired taste for most, that has been consistent right along, and there are still moments in the song names and sampling that will raise eyebrows, but goregrind isn't called that for nothing! For my tastes, I do prefer growled death metal vocals with enunciation, and I remember noting back in the day that the disparate 1-2 man bands on Blood Shed should have formed one great 4/5-piece death metal band, but Tyler's unapologetic solo music has developed an organic fanbase in the past decade, and I will say that if you haven't seen his live shows back when C.T.W. played live more often, the energy of concerts was a big part of their appeal for me. As far as these ten songs go, they were at their best when Tyler focused on a strong death metal song, with more experimental/techno songs falling off a bit, but your mileage may vary. I think I'd recommend the second half of this side, except "What The Frig", for casual death metal fans.
If you like the more abrasive, underground wings of death metal and industrial music, you'll find something to like from both Molten Imp & C.T.W., so buy/stream "Pyrolytic Punishment" at the above links, and I hope you guys liked this month's album review! We'll be looking at local noise punk duo No Funeral's debut EP next month, and stay tuned for this month's YouTube Channel Profile next! Thanks everyone!
