Customer Reviews

Safety Second Body Last

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Oftimes, a reviewer will set up a dichotomy for the fans of a band: "You'll either love them or hate them." they'll say, and because most folks love some rules to throw around with conviction, this cry is taken up.

But this is not the case. I neither loved nor hated The Locust. For the duration of my relationship to their music, I always viewed them as a drug dealing friend: A cool guy to bring to parties, but I never wanted to turn my back on him.

Alas, I made that mistake with SAFETY SECOND, BODY LAST. I turned my back, and the house party that is my appreciation for music lost its mind, wound up in some dank club in the heart of a bloody metropolis, the concrete walls seeping decay, the morals and physics of the world assidiously warped faster than the switch from "Armless and Overactive" to "Who's Handling the Population Paste."

What changed? Why has this plague, that once festered externally found a way into my blackened innards to gnaw a way to my heart?

The music once pressed in on me with claustrophobic ferocity, and existed as this unrelenting wall. On PLAGUE SOUNDSCAPES, The Locust was at the listener with the gusto of starving Hyenas, scratching away with riffs and apocalyptic keyboard acrobatics that seared and gouged with no breathing space, like the thirty-second blasts called "songs" were really long drawn out epics, but nobody would wait their turn for their various solos.

In SAFETY SECOND, BODY LAST, there IS that breathing room, as frenzied spasms give way to jarring atmospherics. And, somehow, those gasps do little to instil hope in the listener for any palatability of the music, more like a glimpse of hope as one is drawn back for an instant to catch their breath in a spray and then plunged back into a bathtub filled with cheap beer, mescaline and blood.

Another interesting aspect is the length of the songs. Previously, Locust songs could count themselves lucky to break the one-minute mark. Here, there are two tracks, spanning five "movements" with sub-parts.

Perhaps a tongue-in-cheek commentary on The Mars Volta and Green Day's sudden success with overwrought concept albums, perhaps an ernest attempt at branching out.

This IS, in the end, an EP, though, and furthermore a LOCUST EP, so the two tracks clock in at just barely over ten minutes. (Split 6min/3+min) And while fans may decry the lack of all out, rabid attack, this is the sort of luxurious slaughter that separates a gang fight from a serial killer, as the Locust chain the listener to the chair, and leave their face a mass of mushroom bruises.

If you are reading this review, you probably already know how insane the Locust are. This EP is good and crazy in the style of the Locust, but it is also lacking in some aspects. This EP has two songs on it, both of which are longer than any other by the Locust. But really, they are a bunch of short songs connected by bleeps and bloops. It's just like listening to something from Plague Soundscapes, except it been made longer by somewhat ambient sounds that connect everything together. It takes something away from the over all effect because you'll be getting into the song and the next thing you'll hear is some bloops instead on another instense song. It's good if you really like the Locust, but it's not a good place to start with them.

metal mind music to rearrange the neurons in your head and eviscerate your soul. You've gotta see this stuff live to fully appreciate the mayhem. They come in to pulverize and leave you bristling with energy. A fine swarm indeed.

Oftimes, a reviewer will set up a dichotomy for the fans of a band: "You'll either love them or hate them." they'll say, and because most folks love some rules to throw around with conviction, this cry is taken up.
But this is not the case. I neither loved nor hated The Locust. For the duration of my relationship to their music, I always viewed them as a drug dealing friend: A cool guy to bring to parties, but I never wanted to turn my back on him.

Alas, I made that mistake with SAFETY SECOND, BODY LAST. I turned my back, and the house party that is my appreciation for music lost its mind, wound up in some dank club in the heart of a bloody metropolis, the concrete walls seeping decay, the morals and physics of the world assidiously warped faster than the switch from "Armless and Overactive" to "Who's Handling the Population Paste."

What changed? Why has this plague, that once festered externally found a way into my blackened innards to gnaw a way to my heart?

The music once pressed in on me with claustrophobic ferocity, and existed as this unrelenting wall. On PLAGUE SOUNDSCAPES, The Locust was at the listener with the gusto of starving Hyenas, scratching away with riffs and apocalyptic keyboard acrobatics that seared and gouged with no breathing space, like the thirty-second blasts called "songs" were really long drawn out epics, but nobody would wait their turn for their various solos.

In SAFETY SECOND, BODY LAST, there IS that breathing room, as frenzied spasms give way to jarring atmospherics. And, somehow, those gasps do little to instil hope in the listener for any palatability of the music, more like a glimpse of hope as one is drawn back for an instant to catch their breath in a spray and then plunged back into a bathtub filled with cheap beer, mescaline and blood.

Another interesting aspect is the length of the songs. Previously, Locust songs could count themselves lucky to break the one-minute mark. Here, there are two tracks, spanning five "movements" with sub-parts.

Perhaps a tongue-in-cheek commentary on The Mars Volta and Green Day's sudden success with overwrought concept albums, perhaps an ernest attempt at branching out.

This IS, in the end, an EP, though, and furthermore a LOCUST EP, so the two tracks clock in at just barely over ten minutes. (Split 6min/3+min) And while fans may decry the lack of all out, rabid attack, this is the sort of luxurious slaughter that separates a gang fight from a serial killer, as the Locust chain the listener to the chair, and leave their face a mass of mushroom bruises.

The Locust have finally stopped being noisy for cute's sake. This is by far their most serious and focused recording. A lot of longtime Locust fans might not appreciate this new, much more experimental direction.

The album only two tracks, both of them around 5 minutes long, and instead of being an aural barrage from start to finish, the music actually slows down at points. It's downright ambient at times. Also new is the inclusion of real singing, which all four of the band members pull off quite well.

It seems like they're finally living up to their potential.

These are some of the longest and thoughtful songs put together by these men. When I say this I am not joking. I believe this is a special gift from this foursome which usually only gives us seconds to grasp the song. Now we have minutes. Some awesome sounds that come with the extended time. Wild, crazy and, cool. I love it.

It's short? C'mon. It's as long as it should be. For me, it sounds perfect. (Well, maybe the second "electronic part"'s a little to long. Maybe!). But I'll stop writing now as I'm enjoying this record for the 200th time. I just love that 10-minute-sound and I hope you open minded music freaks out there do love it too :)

In my opinion The Locust's a bright star on the music's sky, so give'em a try if you don't know them or even if you don't like'em. They may change your perception of the sounds called music and, hey!, isn't that really a lot???

Why the hell are people complaining about the length?
It's a Locust album... how long were you expecting the damn songs to be?

I usually can listen to the more Avant-garde side of hardcore and metal (things such as Blood Brothers (their older stuff), Plot To Blow Up The Eiffel Tower, and almost anything with Mike Patton in it) but i cant seem to get myself to like this. A friend of mine gave me this cd as a gift, and i've tried to like it, but it just wont grow on me. The music is good, its basically fast as hell over blast beats, and the songs are only an average of 60 seconds in length. Unfortunatly it never really draws me in. I am glad to see that there is still originality left in music but this isnt my cup-o-tea.

yes. this record (...yeah it's short.....9 minutes or so???) is an extension, i believe, of the sick sounds spewed on Plague Soundscapes (i have not heard the earlier stuff YET...). they increase the complexity a bit while adding more keyboards and, as stated in at least 1 of the other reviews, gives us a bit of breathing room. this adds MORE explosiveness, in my opinion. the lyrics are highly dismal. this record spits venom like spigots flow water....very naturally. embrace the aural assault. they dare you.