Narcotic Self
3 Song EP
Someone was handing out free CD’s after the recent
Slayer show here in Kansas City, and I happened to be a lucky recipient. Considering the shitty Jagermeister compilation CD I received upon leaving the venue, this freebie disc from the Omaha 4-piece was a bonus. It’s probably not something I would normally buy and listen to, but it has its share of shining moments.
Starting this demo/EP is “Magenta” with some promising riffs, the “Get the fuck up!!!” yelling with a backdrop of some good hardcore riffage that breaks into thrash mode for a few seconds. Ugh…then they go into serious mode with the clean moaning vocals, only to break into the yelling vocals again. After a couple minutes, you think the song is over, then…wait for it…the song kicks back in all thrashy. It’s the nu-metal formula. Clean vox, heavy riff, screamy vocals, croon a little, and repeat for good measure. “Switch” uses the tried and true method of starting out slow and heavy, building up and then the climax. That part works, but they outflanked me with some jazz/rap tangent complete with the “wocka wocka” guitar. But they make up for it with a nifty guitar solo. Rounding out this 3-song EP is a live version of “Falling Distance” recorded at the Omaha Metalfest ’03. It’s a combo of the styles from the first two tracks.
There’s some solid riffs here, the guitar tone is pretty chunky, and the drumming is all sorts of tight. The styles are all over the place, but it’s some pretty listenable stuff, even for a death metal freak like me. I noticed some Soulfly, Meshuggah, and Slipknot influences. So if that’s your thing, check ‘em out. I don’t know if this thing is for sale, but according to their website, they have a CD coming out in early 2004.
