Faxed Head — Chiropractic

"Cuz nothing's worse than a suicide chump" Frank Zappa once sung: now imagine five of 'em! Misunderstood in their hometown Coalinga because of their disfigured appearance as a consequence of their suicide attempts they chose to vent their frustration through music.

A collective love for Mercyful Fate drew them towards metal. This means the extreme forms: thrash, death and black metal, are incorporated in their music and augmented by weird and brutal electronic noises akin to electro-acoustics. The five suicide failures collected in Faxed Head dubbed their extreme musical style 'desk metal'. Their third album Chiropractic might be something that needs a few spins to feel the frustration, disillusion and pain that is displayed.

Wheelchair-bound singer McPatrick Head growls and screams about the horrors of his life in Coalinga like petty thieves having to clean filthy rest stops and his favourite band 'The Four Freshmen' being slimmed down to only one by the time he gets to see them perform. Also selling thongs to sexy girls fortifies the frustration of never being able to get a girlfriend due to his handicaps. I'm not talking about pathetic nagging about the boredom in their hometown like Slipknot or romantic pseudo-Satanism like Cradle Of Filth. This is heartfelt, sincere and undiluted pain! The lovely nurses, drugs and sniffing glue are the only relief from their earthly hell.

Instrumentally many different styles are covered. Mostly forms of metal but the track Coalinga Love for instance is an adaptation of California Love by Dr. Dre and 2Pac. The intense black metal song Farmer Ferdinand Hudson is penned by Robin Gibb. The original material like Demon's Chills and Give The Dead Boy Peace is full of dynamics, chaos and brutality. Fifth Head's electronic soundscapes and effects give the music an even darker atmosphere. The dynamic production by guitarist Neck Head amplifies the nihilism and aggression: it reflects the horrid content of the lyrics.

The music enters new levels of sonic extremity and the lyrics aren't for the weak at heart either. See if you're brave enough to step into the physical and emotional mess that's called Faxed Head.