Any review less than 4 stars is just BS
the_truththing | Burbank, CA | 10/23/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Why? First of all, let me tell you, as an avid Grotus fan, having heard all there albums, having seen them open for Neurosis, this was one hell of a band. Especially on this CD. What is Grotus? It's industrial -- only more. They have actual drums, supplied by Bruce "Juice" Boyd, they collect samples from other music, and tweek it to the point where it's so ... different sounding. Then throw in their own guitars and bass on it for a super chunky, RATM-ish sounding hard rock with funky samples. Now just a second, RATM? I only mean this comparison to a degree, it's not similar vocally, only a little bit musically. That same sort of chunky hard rock with distorted bass, but not really "metal" per say. And no funny guitar noises either, just ... the chunky sound they have when Tom Morello is not making funny noises. That kind of thing. Vocally ... I'm not sure who to compare this to ... the singer is unique to say the least. If I had to describe it, it'd be a sort of ... BB King meets Marilyn Manson. By this I mean, the singer's voice, (Lars Fox) would not be strange heard singing the blues (as is beautifully demonstrated on "White Trash Blues" and "Hand to Mouth") yet at the same time he can sound ... a little mansonesque. (As demonstrated on "That's Entertainment") There, I made a word. Past this, there really is no describing this sound, it's original, heavy, chunky, funky, and creative. Mass I would consider to be Grotus' finest achievement, being that "Slow Motion Apocolypse" I found a little to ... dark maybe? Trust me, when you are in the mood for Apocolypse, and only that, no other disc will do, it's just not as diverse as this one. And the one before that, "Brown" is a little short on the song writing skill thing. My favorite song by far is song #10. I really wish a major label would pick this up and promote it like hell, cause I'm absolutely sure it could do better than it did on London. Other great bands that deserve to be known are Sweaty Nipples, Fishbone, Mordred, Saviour Machine, Aghora, After Forever, even Anthrax . . .. and have you noticed the lack of people who have heard Living Colour? I think our music is going to pot, and this whole " I won't get into that band, I've never heard of them, they must not be any good" thing MUST stop, if you ever hear someone complaining how the whole music thing is awful and that there is nothing good out there, just bring them to the underground. Here is where music should be."
Strange to say the least ....
T. Scoggin | Tehachapi, CA United States | 10/27/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I recently of this band actually on Amazon ... yet I learned you could not order this new, and the only to get it was used. So I went to my local Wherehouse, and surely enough, there it was; Grotus: Mass. After putting it in my car stereo, I was rather surprised by what I heard, because it didn't sound like ... anything. Especially that voice. YEESH! Simply indescribeable, the only thing I can say is this was a great band. Any Grotus reunions people? I have yet to hear the other two, but you can trust me when I can say, this is one of the most unique offerings out there ... get one if you can."
Chaos will make you whole
King Mob | Brooklyn NY | 07/13/2003
(3 out of 5 stars)
"Grotus is one of those sad cases of a band that just couldn't get it together. The hearts are in the right place, the influences are beyond reproach, but for some reason the right mix is never acheived. As a group that is, thematically, similar to Snog and Consolidated, they miss out on the inventiveness of the former and get mired in the lame industrial rock of the latter.
That's not to say that there's nothing worth hearing on this disc, That's Entertainment has a very Clutch-like sound which is not without its charm, and White Trash Blues works really well and holds up after repeated listens. Tain't Nobody's business is the clear winner on this album though. Its use of samples puts it up there with EBN and Negativeland.
The bottom line is that there is something here if you are into industrial rock, and you're looking for something that has some deep thinking beyond the usual "I'm an angry white guy" mentality of most bands that frequent that gray area between genres."