LOST SOUL
Scream of the Mourning Star (Relapse)
Reviewed by Jason Thornberry

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Lost Soul are sooo consistently fast that your face becomes numb by the time you’ve reached the end of the first track on Scream of the Mourning Star. With sewing-machine tempos and automatic rifle double bass, this Polish export might as well be from Jupiter.

I’m not even going near the six-stringers (which in Guitar Player Magazine terms contain double tracked sixteenth-note tremolo picking. Think ‘Flight of the Bumblebee and you’re close.).

Comparisons to a new Zappa-fied Utopia are well placed. These guys know exactly what they’re doing when it comes to playing their instruments. At times this kinetic maelstrom simmers for a moment to let some foggy, hypnotic keyboards float towards the surface. I wish they’d utilize more of that. It’s a very effective contrast. Entrance to Nothingness gets my vote for the best song here. Lost Soul redefine the terms ‘Hard Rock’ or ‘Hard Core’ until most of what normally seemed ‘angry’ or ‘rebellious’ before now sounds quaint and huggable. ‘Oooh... Mom would finally approve of Gimp Bizkit after hearing this.’

The inverted, almost ‘prog’ song structures bring Yes or King Crimson to mind, but the overall delivery is more akin to Morbid Angel or Nocturnus. My complaint was the relatively thin-sounding production. I think a recording style that emphasized the leaden guitars would have suited Lost Soul better. The whole sore throat vocal approach has gotten rather tiresome too. Napalm Death are probably the only band who have always been able to maximize the claustrophobia and the feeling as though you’re being violated by a wild, angry bear while you listen. With almost everyone else it appears to be excusing the fact that the singer can’t sing.

Dick Dale gets his first hit of crack Speedy Gonzales has a seizure. Fast and complex. Progressive grindcore? This cd was so amazingly out there my body is physically exhausted after two complete listens. Wired from too much coffee? Scream will wear you out. There’s a quote to that effect on the inside of this cd from an F. Nietzsche. I think that’s what he was saying.

© 2001 - Jason Thornberry