ANTiSEEN--Hell
Steel Cage 2003
Any band that lasts for two decades must have a great sense of roots in their music. ANTiSEEN's naysayers would have you believe the band are merely a buch of stupid, uncultured rednecks, but that couldn't be further from the truth. Essentially a compilation of covers from throughout the band's history, Hell reveals the true depth of influences alive in ANTiSEEN's music.
While this CD is a compilation featuring recordings from many different years during the band's past, there is a surprising sense of togetherness in terms of sound quality and flow to Hell. Due to the generally clear production style utilized, as well as the liberal inclusion of keys many of these cuts boast, Hell most resembles ANTiSEEN's Here To Ruin Your Groove album. A lot of Hell's accessibility comes from the fact ANTiSEEN give very reverent takes of tracks like Roky Erickson's "I Have Always Been Here Before" and Bachman Turner Overdrive's "Takin' Care Of Business," amongst others.
Still, the more unexpected the cover or treatment it's given, the better Hell gets. Who would've ever expected ANTiSEEN to cover the Talking Heads' "Psycho Killer," or for them to come out sounding like the Talking Heads on a cover of "Masters Of The Sky," originally by Jack Starr. The Jumpin' Gene Simmons cut "Haunted House," as well as a fuzzed out live version of Curtis Mayfield's "(Don't Worry) If There's A Hell Below," stand as the major treats of this collection. Round things out with a few Antiseen originals, such as their Mick Foley/wrestling tribute "Cactus Jack," or the brutal "You're Gonna Tote An Ass Kickin'," and Hell is a surprisingly complete collection.
While Hell isn't the absolute first place one should start delving into ANTiSEEN, it is an essential score. This is a very important document that goes a long way in clarifying where the band have been coming from all these years. When music is as abrasively powerful as what ANTiSEEN pumps out, some people have a tendency to discount it as "all sounding the same." Perhaps the greatest gift of Hell is giving uneducated ears signposts of what to be listening for underneath ANTiSEEN's wall of distortion.
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