Skope Magazine, Mouvement Nouveau, 2004
Cleveland-spawned multi-genre prototype that succeeds in the face of a situation comparable to inviting your strangest bedfellows to the same party. Mainstream listeners will block out the occasional crackly sample-breaks and hear hard rock or nu-psychedelica depending on the song, but it's more a stew of both those styles further synth-refined into a concoction deserving of its own slick classification - aggro-indie perhaps (aggro, for all the blessedly unaware non-scenesters, is wonk-English for techno-metal). A slightly vulnerable production prevents this from being as drunkenly powerful as, say, KMFDM, but makes it CMJ-relevant in the same stroke. Title track combines ennui-drone vocals with buzzsaw guitar and caustic industrial patterns that peak during its zillion-layer chorus. Fair comparison here would be Flesh Field, but then there's the Garbage vs Melvins scuffle in "Overload" with its ear-drilling fuzz-bombs. There's talk of big-league interest already, which comes as no surprise. - Eric W. Saeger
Product Description
State of Being's "Haywire" arrives like a midwestern storm front. Lurid vocals pierce a sonic downpour of synthesizer sounds and guitar power chords infused with elements of industrial, goth, and electronica. This storm doesn't let up, sustaining its intensity for thirteen tracks. Seek shelter immediately. Then, listen. Produced by Andy Kubiszewski (Stabbing Westward, Prick, The The).
