Fatal Flying Guilloteens--Get Knifed
Estrus 2003
Originality is a rare commodity in music these days. Fortunately for them, the Fatal Flying Guilloteens don't have a problem in that area. Their album Get Knifed is one of the most brain melting, genre bending releases you'll ever hear. The only catagory you'll feel safe locking this thing into is "very special."
It's safe to say there probably isn't another band around who sound like the Fatal Flying Guilloteens. On Get Knifed, they merge blues-damaged garage rock with the angularity of D.C.-styled hardcore, the abrasiveness of post punk, and the general insanity of all things truly experimental. Imagine some twisted blend of the Lord High Fixers, Fugazi, the Jesus Lizard, and Trout Mask Replica-era Captain Beefheart--that should give you an idea of what's going on here. On paper it may not seem plausible, but somehow the Fatal Flying Guilloteens make it work in a major way.
At a hair over twenty-four minutes, Get Knifed doesn't give you long to lock into any groove. That's fine, because these songs weren't designed for that purpose. These cuts flow in and out of eachother so well, it's often hard to tell when one ends and another starts--this is very much an album. Still, the more angular and freaked out things get, the more this platter shines, "Cup Of 1000" and "Lights Out" being most exemplary. If you like things more straightforward, the closing instrumental "Intro" is your best bet. "Safety In Numbers" also musters about as much laid back cool to start as the Guilloteens are capable of, before morphing into askewedness. It's a crazy ride but a damn inspired one.
Get Knifed is the kind of album that throws rock n' roll purists into a bitch fit. For that fact alone, it warrants your support. Beyond that, it isn't every day a band comes along who are not only fresh but great. So, seize the Fatal Flying Guilloteens. It's a new frontier.
Score this CD directly from ESTRUS
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