| Metal Edge, March 2001 Life guarantees may not exceed death and taxes, but Los Angeles based rebels Professional Murder Music have emerged so that music fans can comfortably rest their heads with another certainty�this band will serve, enhance and reinvent the goth/industrial scene in 2001. Vocalist/programmer Roman Marisak and bassist/programmer Jeff Schartoff (formerly of Human Waste Project) spearheaded this foursome, who override the drama of a 12-piece orchestra, combine cinematics to rival Manson�s Holy Wood and contribute a metal twist to the graphic electronics of new-wave kings like New Order and The Cure. Their self-titled Geffen Records debut is the soundtrack for the silver screen that flicks behind heavy eyelids, reality and repressed subconscious images becoming indistinguishable amidst perfect engineering and a disillusioned lyrical perspective. Subscribing to the do-it-yourself manifesto, PMM�s first widespread acceptance was with the release of an early recording over the Internet, before finally attracting the attention of Geffen for their upcoming major label debut. Despite the release being postponed until 2001, the CD is as suspenseful as the Halloween season it was originally intended for. �It was supposed to come out on Halloween, but it kept on getting pushed back and will come out sometime in early April,� the frontman details. Produced by the modern-day programming guru Josh Abraham (Orgy, PM5K, Spineshank), Marisak, Schartoff, guitarist Brian Harrah and drummer Justin Bennett are sure to reap May flowers in the form of skyrocketing record sales, following their April shower of riffs. Marisak had this to say of the experience with Abraham: �He didn�t really tell us what to do, so it was good to work with him. We had most of our programming and keyboards done on a hard disc, so it was really just transferring the files.� Given PMM�s seamless embroidery of ambient keyboards into their unadulterated rock, there couldn�t be much room for improvement. But the band managed nonetheless, through a relationship Abraham initiated. �DJ Lethal of Limp Bizkit was in the studio and Josh knew him. So he asked him if he would come on in and put some really electronic touches on a song, because that was all it needed.� The multi-functional guitarist/programmer/keyboardist and levitating voice went on to mention other notable leaving their mark on the CD. �Aimee Echo is on there, she sang in Human Waste Project and is now in theSTART, she�s a long time friend. We had Troy Van Leeuwen from A Perfect Circle, and also Knox from Siouxsie and the Banshees played electric cello on a song�you can�t even tell it�s a cello.� The band that began in Marisak�s Plan a Studio has been proving themselves outside of the controlled environment of sequencing loops and drum machines. �We did a few dates with Orgy in Phoenix and with theSTART,� he says. And despite the fact that their album has yet to be released, those audiences fittingly swooned over every selection. However, it was last summer�s Tattoo the Earth tour that raised the bar for PMM, performing alongside other sidestage acts Mudvayne and Hatebreed. �[The other bands] were more of the full-on heavy stuff, but we got a good response from the crowd.� But can they pull it off live, or is it difficult reproducing the intricate and delicately woven supply of spaceage sonics and thundering guitars on stage? Marisak contests any reason why they would fall short of their recorded excellence in a live setting. �No, because we have so many layers and a lot of sequencing, plus we have been doing it for so long. WE started like five years ago just writing and building up our own studio, and we just added the guitar player and drummer like two years ago.� If Professional Murder Music rings a bell and you didn�t catch the Tattoo the Earth tour on the West Coast, then the recollection could stem from some smart label placement on the End of Days soundtrack. Marisak recalls: �The day we hooked up with Geffen Record, they said, �We are putting together this soundtrack for the movie End of Days and we think your song �Slow� would be perfect for it.� And when we did Tattoo the Earth, you could tell people knew that song from the soundtrack.� �Slow� will be the first single, and much like the open-endedness of their tentative cover art�a lunar eclipse�Professional Murder Music can not be typecast into any neat genre. And they aren�t worried about those who will try. �Electronics in music, I think, are just as common as guitars now. We try to go in many different directions and keep it heavy and melodic.��Cathy A. Campagna |