5.0 out of 5 stars
If you love metal/rock, you MUST have this CD!, June 28, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Horror Wrestling (Audio CD)
I first heard Drain S.T.H. on the secondary stage at Ozzfest, and spent the next two and a half months trying to find this CD. I HAD to have it. This band blew my mind. Since finally obtaining the CD, the only time it has left my Stack of five CD's I carry in my truck, is to listen to it in the house. These chicks ROCK! The best rock/metal CD I own, and I do own alot of CD's. I recommend it to everyone, even the "Casual" metal fan, this CD is everything that the genre should be, it's Awesome!
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Serious musicianship in technique and composition., October 22, 1998
This review is from: Horror Wrestling (Audio CD)
Drain STH is, to my knowledge, the newest of the all-women rock/metal phenomena to come along. I've generally not enjoyed most femme-metal groups, simply for the fact that they couldn't sing, play, and/or write decently (as far as my tastes go).
Drain STH is an exception. A HUGE exception.
This quartet is yet more proof that the European subcontinent is still capable of turning out good music on occasion. I'd have to say that the only European group that I enjoy more than Drain STH is the ever-lovin' mid-80's Iron Maiden. These women not only crunch, they keee-rruuunnch! A nice, swampy sound somewhat reminiscent of Alice In Chains (whom they are quoted as admiring), they're capable wailing in tune whilst churning out a groove that will rattle your bones, resonate in your gut, and grow your hair.
It's great stuff.
I haven't been much of a fan of the metal scene since the early '90's, when Metallica sold out, and most of the other bands toned it down and abandoned precision riffs for the overly-repetive, hollowed-out, "back-to-our-roots," "alternative" sound. I haven't paid much mind to most of the new bands on the scene because, for the most part, they seem to be one-trick types - no variety, same type of subject matter, etc., etc. There have been a few exceptions, such as the eternally-pissed-off Tool, but for the most part, metal's made me yawn for the past several years.
Therefore, I am extremely grateful to Drain STH for giving me a much-needed kick in the groin.
Let's just put together a brief list of pros (no cons, as far as I can tell):
1) Drain STH has a nice, tight sound. I wish more groups could sound as together as they do. 2) They are not afraid to crank out the juice. I don't know how much time they spent getting their sound as Captain Crunchy as it is, but regardless, it makes gets my blood pumping. 3) They can sing. That is a rare, rare quality to be found in music today, not to mention metal, where croaking and/or screaming at the top of your lungs pathetically passes as vox nowadays. Something even more impressive, they harmonize beautifully. 4) They can play. None of that "let's just strum our guitars with some fuzz" bull*$^! that's just too prevalent in today's music scene. None of that "let's just crank out four power chords" crap. There's some serious riffage here. 5) Unlike most "alternative" groups, their lyrics make sense. How long has it been, ladies and gentlemen, since we've been able to pick up a random song and make sense of it (aside from the "C'mon, get into my bed/I'm such a rich gangsta that you gotta be turned on" crap that passes for R&B nowadays)? 6) They have an unbridled-yet-obviously-thought-about sensuality that is sorely lacking in metal. I know that serious (not glam-rock or pop-metal like Poison and Ratt) metal groups have traditionally left sex alone (unless just making it seem horribly macabre), probably to disassociate themselves from the makeout tunes that just ooze from pop radio and MTV, but there is a way to approach it without seeming like a bunch of horny teenagers. nin did it well, and Tori does it well every time she breathes heavily into a mike. Drain STH gets it across in their lyrics. 7) So far as I've seen, they don't use cleavage and leg to sell their albums. That's very refreshing, esp. if you're as media-conscious as I am. Just look at the liner photos - four attractive women in shirts, pants, and shoes/boots. No excessive makeup. No unnecessary flesh exposed. No lingerie, tube-tops, or anything excessively tight. No come-hither, lickin'-my-lips-'cause-I'm-so-horny, coy looks. No stupid hip-cocked head-tilted I'm-a-girl-so-I-have-to-stand-like-this poses. They look comfortable and serious, maybe just a tad bit pissed-off. These are serious musicians, folks. If you buy their album, it will be because you want to hear good music, not because they're flashing some tit. 8) They can actually sing in English without you stopping to go, "Huh? Where're they from?" every three words. I'm usually of the philosophy that if you can't sing in a language, then don't record in it. I don't know if they actually speak English as well as they sing it, but I'm damned impressed with what they do here. Better than Roxette, ABBA, and that nightmare of a crappy death-metal band, Opera X.
It has been too f*#king long since I've heard new metal of this quality.
Some highlights for you:
Track 1: I Don't Mind - Swamp-metal with a beat that just demands that you pull on your stompin' boots. Track 7: Stench - Slow heavy groove with some excellent wailing. Track 12: Unreal - Dark cleanliness which segues nicely into bassy overdrive. Track 15: Ace of Spades - A remake of the Motorhead classic, I'd choose this version anyway over the original.
My one regret at the moment is that I discovered this group about six weeks after they played some shows nearby.
Run out and find a copy of "Horror Wrestling," boys and girls. You will not regret it. It will rock your world in a way that you've been looking for since 1991.
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