Search The Line of Best Fit
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"Thriller"

Part Chimp – Thriller
19 September 2009, 09:12 Written by Mike Copus
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partchimpDrenched in a drunken feedback and sizzling fuzz, Thriller is a monstrosity of an album, hulking alongside legendary prehistoric beasts such as the (just brought back from extinction) Cave In, Neurosis and Kyuss.Despite not bearing much in common with its obvious namesake upon first listen, there is actually one vital common feature of the late MJ’s opus and Part Chimp’s latest attempt: they both have a severely heavy dosage of groove. Part Chimp’s is harder to pick out amongst the screeching guitars and belly rumbles of drums, but make no mistake about it ”“ it’s there, and it’s the backbone bent over backwards of every one of the songs on this album.Part Chimp are one of those bands whose name pretty much sums up what you’re set to experience. The double whammy of ‘Today 2’ and ‘Today 3’ couldn’t sound much more primal without resorting to recording the beasts having a turf war in the wild, and ‘Trad’ sounds like Torche rocking it out on the bottom of the deepest, darkest ocean. They say there are some pretty freaky creatures surviving down at the bottom of the sea, with glow in the dark eyes and horrific fangs, but this is the kind of dwelling Part Chimp would happily inhabit. Hell, the furious rumblings of ‘FFFFF’ would probably even disturb the most patient of the evolutionary experimental fish that roam the sea.Thriller isn’t all dank animalistic cavorting however. ‘Supermoody’ is a gloomy, tribal affair which early on casts the impression that it’s going to be a respite from all the pummeling and angry gorilla beatings upon the eardrums. That is, until its gigantic riff kicks in and obliterates absolutely everything like a Giant taking a huge Guinness flavoured shit on a colony of Smurfs. ‘Dirty Sun’ meanwhile would probably be a bit insulted if you labeled it with the term ‘grunge-esque’, but seeing as it’s the least intimidating track on the album that’s exactly what I’m going to do.Thiller is an exciting listen, full of dynamic twists and turns that are rarely heard these days. Despite not going overboard in its sense of innovation, every track sounds fresh and, much to the relief of whoever came up with the album title, thrilling. The sludgy guitars pound the ground with just the right earth-quaking venom, whilst there’s something in the vocals that just about keep the album’s head above the mire.So, for those of you who like having your spleens constantly vibrated by the air blasting out of a sub-woofer, Thriller comes highly recommended. But if you’re the type who feels queasy at just the thought of having your ear drums tickled by a delicate feather then stay as far away as possible from this savage, rampaging bunch of possibly inebriated primates, because they will quite happily have their way with you and not call back the next morning. Don’t say you haven’t been warned now.RECOMMENDEDPart Chimp on MySpace
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