Join In The Chant

Join in the CHANT
By Grant V. Ziegler

Almost every object in the world makes a sound but it takes a special kind of talent to turn those objects into instruments. Bradley Bills, the singer and drummer of Chant, just happens to have that talent and hones it quite well. From conventional drum sets to trash cans and even satellite dishes, Bills makes everything he pounds on a delightful noise in one’s eardrum.
Consider Chant to be a tribal industrial version of the Blue Man Group that only required one person. Although there is a double digit number of drums on stage and a workload big enough for three drummers, Bills handles it all by himself.
Austin native Chant is set to release its second full length album on October 10 at the Church in Deep Ellum. Chant’s previous album That Which Divides garnered an underground following in the industrial scene which helped them land opening gigs for bands like My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult. Chant’s new album Strong Words for Strong People should start shedding light on why Chant should be headlining rather than opening from now on.
Strong Words for Strong People strikes our most primitive chords. Tribal beats, loud stomping thuds and a bit of synthesized sound engineering drives everyone in the club to get up and move. You can’t help it. You instantly want to slam things along side him.
This album is a perfect blend of rhythmically seducing tracks such as “Empty” and soul-grooving melodic tunes like “Need.” My favorite track is “Revolt.” I heard it live a few months ago and instantly fell in love with it. This song could easily be a new national anthem for those unsatisfied with the conditions of society.
The album isn’t just heavy and pounding though, there are deeply passionate tracks where you can easily hear Bradley Bills’ heart and soul on such as the title track. I could feel my breath quavering as I connected myself to the darkened tone of the track.
This album is a most own for fans of bands like Nine Inch Nails or Nitzer Ebb. Each copy of the CD is being sold with a unique and collectable poster. There are a total of nine different posters and each one represents one of the nine tracks on the album. If you’d like to have all nine you can buy a special edition version of the CD which will be sold at the release party. The posters are nicely handcrafted and will be an instant collector’s item.
Chant’s music is the best pounding in my head that I’ve ever felt. You’ve never experienced the true intensity of tribal drumming until you’ve seen what Bradley Bills of Chant can do on stage. I give this album four and a half out of five stars.

Industrial Strength Balls

Industrial is the music style/genre I most often relate to and enjoy. It's a glorious fusion of hard synthesizer beats, electronic drums and guitars. It has the capability of inducing a stomp-fest that brings a building straight to the ground or it can lure you into sexual escapades with its howlingly beautiful rhythms. Without industrial music synthpop artists that have taken over our airwaves would not exist. That's right Lady Gaga, without all electronic keyboard and synthesizer music you wouldn't be anything more than a drag-queen with down syndrome.

However, I'm finding this music breed to be losing its moxy. Front runners like Marilyn Manson and Nine Inch Nails have fallen to the wayside and although that leaves room for someone to take the spotlight I haven't seen anyone stepping up to the plate.

Marilyn Manson is getting fat on his all Haribo Gummy Bear and Mansinthe diet. His lyrics don't rhyme anymore and his ass hasn't been seen on stage in almost four tours. Trent Reznor went political, shaved his head and apparently forgot how to play music in between it all. Someone needs to get Trent some more drugs and another bad relationship to write about so we can hear a decent album from him again.

Oh, I remember the days of industrial mainstream. Teenage angst was fueled by lyrics such "I wanna fuck you like an animal" by NIN and "I'm Guilty and you're Guilty too" by Gravity Kills. Senators everywhere wanted to shut down and protest albums like Downward Spiral and Antichrist Superstar. That's how I knew industrial meant something. Kids were killing themselves to these albums and honestly, that's something to be proud of.

Industrial still has hope. With this electronic music generation we live in, some synthed out band is destined to make its way to the top. I'm pointing my finger at Combichrist. They're loud, forceful, creative and their tours disappoint no one. Without Combichrist, industrial music barely has a voice. With block rockin beats such as "This Shit Will Fuck You Up" and "Get Your Body Beat," Combichrist has empowered a movement in the industrial culture that has taken over smaller stages and dance clubs everywhere. Someone, somewhere will notice one day.

Locally, I'm blessed in the industrial scene. If the world had what I have now they'd still be paying their whiplash bills after rocking their industrial cocks out. A portion of my paychecks tend to go towards the Razorblade Dolls, Red Pyramid, Rivethead, Bit_Rot, and Scary Cherry and the Bang Bangs. I couldn't be happier to throw money at these acts. If it keeps them making music I'm for it.

I don't know if these bands will be the next wave of what's on your radio, but for music's sake and especially industrial's sake; I sure hope so.

Thrill Kill Kult is still making music, so are Skinny Puppy, Rammstein, Das Ich and :Wumpscut:. All these bands have different ways of making industrial music sound good and I hope they become an inspiration to others as much as they have been to me. That way someone who has more musical talent than I, can come along and break this barrier from underground to global domination.

Thank you for reading,
Grant V. Ziegler