Review: The Causticles - 'Eric Gottesman'

THE CAUSTICLES 
'Eric Gottesman' 
UNDUSTRIAL RECORDS 

Geeks and guts collide this month with the long awaited album by Matt Fanale of Caustic and Brian Graupner of The Gothsicles finally gets its meaty mitts on the Industrial scene.  Since the early days of both bands, both men have been supporting musicians to each others' work, most notable in the UK was Infest in 2007 and Resistanz Festival in 2010 (where the Gothsicles were the first band to play).  The only song that held any hope of this album was the instrumental track 'A Case For Hate Speech' (that was featured on the first Resistanz Festival companion CD) and now with experience on their side and a fanbase to boot, 'Eric Gottesman' is finally here.

With a killer intro featuring a sample from TV show 'The Inbetweeners' you know this is going to be dark, fun and cheeky.  'Ruin the Party' sees Matt take the first attack with a growl that could curl toenails.  Already telling the listener that they are here to "Burn bridges" and that they "SUCK", it is clear that this is a personal project and to hell with what anyone thinks.  Brian then enters the fray with 'Headbutt To The Guts', a violent piece with a dancefloor edge.  Bringing some of Brian's wit and candour to a future party hit.

'Spacebugs' has equal charm and retro musings.  Sounding like an out-take from 'Sega Legosi's Dead', it has Brians' 8-bit nightmare mind written all over it. The bassline on  '(I'm not) Functional' is a beautiful sound, and is cut into by distorted synth that sounds like an old inkjet printer.  The vocals are equally low, and will give your speakers a right seeing to!  'The Matrix Is Real' has a real club vibe to it, but adds more as a filler to mark the centre of the album, it's still fun all the same, you will find yourself trying to find out where all the samples are from though.

'Snail Hatin' is a typical "Side 2" opener.  Starting with an eerie synth to start, it gets layered by an equally creepy beat.  On this track, the boys step aside and let Nikki of Prometheus Burning helm the vocals, of which make for a track so perfect in it's horror that you may want to add it to your set/playlist.  
'True Tales of Made Up Adventure'  has Bryan game-raging throughout, and is a typical rip-roaring romp on what he does best, ending with the announcement "Oh Shit! My guy died" making it a possible prequel to a previous song of the same title.  'iRöcktüng!' has an old school feel to it, and an astro field for a melody.  It's short, but sweet.

'We're [Literally] Here For Your [Figurative] Pussy' is the teams' "this one goes out to the ladies" track, but with nerdy charm.  Watch out for this song in a club night near you, it's going to be an end of the night fun track.  Next up, a re-vamped version of 'A Case For Hate Speech (First Amendment Vocal Version)'.  It's well deserved vocal addiction is a brutal inclusion to what was a trailer for this album.  The album's second to last is 'Stranger Danger', a familiar song to all fans who follow the band closely online.  The song heightens the threat of meeting people you don't know by sounding a siren as a start, then moves on like an info-mercial of freakishness.  The last song eloquently titled 'The Causticles Ain't Nuthin' Ta Fuck Wit' is a closer closer, with a heavy hip-hop beat and imaginative vocals that hark back to Nu-metal rap tracks.  

In total, this début is definitely worth the wait, weather you be a fan of either band, or just a fan of great industrial music this album has everything a growing rivethead or cybergoth needs to be big and strong... and possibly a dirge to society.

Posted in: eric gottesman,music,the causticles