False Face was just released by this Washington-based horror-industrial band, their sixth full-length album. Originating in 1999 from Florida, God Module is a project of Jasyn Bangert, whose hissing, gasping, sinister-sounding vocals are the signature sound of the band—that, and relentless, furious electronic beats.
The first track opens with a looped sample of an alarmed female or child’s voice followed by a brutal rhythm and the hissing, whispered vocals mentioned above. A synthesizer riff and more terrified-sounding samples are added. The second song, “Black And Blue,” has an upbeat, electro-mechanical cadence upon which are superimposed—as on most of the other tracks on this album—with harsh, angry vocals.
Like many other tracks, “Nothing But Mine” forcefully compels the listener to the dance floor, as it creates an atmosphere of techno-industrial rage. The title-track, “False Face,” sounds like a mechanical bullwhip snapping, which provides Bangert an opportunity to vent his displeasure with those who have misrepresented themselves in his life and especially in the music industry.
Eerie cinematic-derived samples, some quite menacing, open several songs and are interspersed sparsely throughout, matched by passionate singing and driving techno beats. The sixth track, “Through The Noise,” offers the listener an opportunity to hear some desolate lyrics and real, full-throated singing.
An intense, creative video of the seventh track, “Destroy The Day,” can be watched online, and it displays the rather interesting lyrics over a predominantly red-tinted and disturbing background. I suggest you don’t follow the line of the song that suggests, “Now slit your throat on the count of three!” That song ends on the cheery note of, “…counting all the stars as they fade away.” A similar sentiment is featured in the ninth song, “Sky Shut Down,” which gallops along at a mesmerizing pace.
“Faith Is Fragile” slows the pace a bit and integrates the lyrics spoken in a theatrical whisper with peculiar and interesting synthetic sounds. The album concludes with the 10th track, “The Mark,” a moderately paced and pleasant techno number with acrimonious yet soothing and sibilant vocals that should keep the dancers moving on the dance floor despite their intentions to take a rest.
For those of you dance music fans who are into horror, whether cinematic or musical, God Module’s False Face has put it all together for you in this nasty yet totally listenable album.
In A Word: Infernal
