There's a HUGE chance that a lot of metal albums that parody what makes metal, well, metal will get shelved away after a few chuckles here and there. Crotchduster's 'Big Fat Box of Shit' is one such example of ample amounts of ingenuity in song composition (no one can ever try to convince me that 'Mammal Sauce' wasn't an awesome song outside the merits of its jokes, relevant as they were). But frankly, I haven't listened to 'Big Fat Box of Shit' since its release in 2004, perhaps due to the constant influx of new material to check out, or maybe because the parody eventually dried out.
Zimmer's Hole is one such band that, like Crotchduster, parodies the very things that we find oh-so-metal and don't question their reasoning for being in our culture. Actually, I take that back - I know of plenty of metalheads that have questioned the Mötley Crüe/glam rock scene's involvement in the development of metal nowadays. Anyways, Zimmer's Hole is a bit more...vocal about it, you could say. And when I say vocal, boy, do I mean VOCAL.
Vocalist Chris 'The Heathen' Valagao can certainly tear up both the highs of power metal vocalists and the low grunts of death metal (though he tends to stay in the former range for most of the album), and does it all with an utterly unshakable presence behind the mic. Whether you're into Winger or Twisted Sister or any of those glam guys, Valagao is very convincing in getting you into his camp of glam-hating with sing-along lines like the classics, "glam ROCK! can suck my COCK!" and "Exodus was fucking right - all the posers must DIE!" And backed by no less than everyone other than Devin Townsend from Strapping Young Lad is pretty metal all the way around (though Devin handled vocal production).
The ensemble, comprised of guitarist Jed Simon (whose 2003 Tenet Demo was a flurry of metal madness in my book), bassist Byron Stroud (yes, the guy who also works with Fear Factory), and skinsman Gene 'Atomic Clock' Hoglan (who's been in, like, everything) mixes things up between straight ahead thrash, malicious death metal, and bright, catchy power metal licks, littered with copious amounts of vulgarity, masculinity, and in its attempts to joke their way using the same techniques and sounds they aim to parody, they actually pull off a decent metal album. Mind, most of the better moments are those of the power metal variety, but there's some great death metal fare on here (the title track marries both elements quite nicely).
Mind, there are a couple songs on here that will immediately show their age within weeks following the release ('The Vowel Song,' featuring Nathan Explosion of famed virtual-DM band Dethklok, will get spins only when you want to impress friends that loathe death metal but dig Metalocalypse). But for a fun, energetic, and diverse set of songs played with conviction (if that has any weight nowadays), Zimmer's Hole has delivered something pretty damn enjoyable. For the moment, they indeed rule the fucking land.
TRACK LISTING:
1/ WHEN YOU WERE SHOUTING AT THE DEVIL...WE WERE IN LEAGUE WITH SATAN
2/ WE RULE THE FUCKING LAND
3/ THE FLIGHT OF THE KNIGHT BAT
4/ 1312
5/ DEVIL'S MOUTH
6/ THE VOWEL SONG
7/ FISTA CORPS
8/ ANONYMOUS ESOPHAGUS
9/ ALRIGHT
10/ HAIR DOESN'T GROW ON STEEL
11/ WHAT'S MY NAME...EVIL!
With a wicked sense of humor and an undying love for true metal, guitarist Jed Simon (Tenet, SYL) and bassist Byron Stroud (Fear Factory, SYL) pay homage to the genre by celebrating its eccentricities in their Canadian quartet, ZIMMERS HOLE. Rounded out by their certifiable vocalist The Heathen and long-time biggest fan Gene Hoglan (Dethklok, SYL) on drums, THE HOLE, as they are affectionately known by their loyal legion of miscreant followers, will reach worldwide audiences for the first time with their third full-length, When You Were Shouting At the Devil, We Were In League With Satan.
Born in 1991, ZIMMERS HOLE has been Jed and Byrons 'significant other' band when not busy with Strapping Young Lad or Fear Factory. In the beginning, it was always a way of spending the weekend...the boys used to get together, drink far too much, and write absurd songs.
When asked by a friend who ran a local club if they knew of any bands that could fill a spot left vacant by a cancellation, they promptly formed their own band to fill the Hole...pun intended.
Over the first few years, there were enough smashed TV's, gunpowder burns and exploded road-kill carcasses to fill a small house. Eventually, the 6 foot exploding styrofoam crosses were retired, the TV's were left to implode by themselves, the 45 gallon drum of dry ice was abandoned, road kill was left to it's own devices and the guys started writing seriously...well, sort of. In 1996, Devin Townsend attended one of the shows, and after being pummeled by exploding pumpkins(it was Halloween, after all), he said that THE HOLE needed to do an album, and that he would produce it. That first album was Bound By Fire, released through HevyDevy in 96. A frenzied offering of metal on every level, delivered with all the toilet humor you could ask for.
The next album was Legion of Flames, released in 2002 through Virusworx. More refined but no less than silly than it's predecessor, ZH toured like crazy for this album which lelped lay the groundwork for the new release. Although THE HOLE was dug before the formation of Strapping Young Lad, this is the first time Simon and Stroud have had the time to devote all their attention to the band, resulting in a more focused, streamlined effort. The inherent insanity in a project like THE HOLE is still there, but traditional metal influences abound in the epic, fist-pumping feel of songs like “We Rule The Fucking Land” and “Flight of the Knight Bat.” The crisp but cutting production clearly places 'When You Were Shouting' on the modern side of things but Simon’s thrashy riffs and Hoglan’s blistering pace give the album a timeless and dangerous edge. This is a record for those true metal fans hungry for something that’s going to get their heart pumping and head banging. After all, THE HOLE are as serious about having fun as they are about keeping the integrity of metal intact.
Between bands that wear irony on their sleeves with pride, suburban pseudo-punks with swoopy haircuts and tough-guy chumps with barbed-wire tattoos, it’s hard to know where to look for honest evil anymore. Fortunately, and ironically enough, THE HOLE fill this gap with enough raging testosterone to make Barry Bonds jealous, and with the infamous screamer Devin Townsend co-producing, it’s easy to understand why their third album might as well be dubbed the Devil’s Soundtrack.
With a new album in the bag and a newly intense focus, THE HOLE are looking forward to hitting the road as a collective on national tours for the first time.
The time has come for those in league with Satan to gather and prepare for the arrival of the unholy ZIMMERS HOLE.
MYSPACE
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