8 - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, November 18,1993 Noise extravaiance heads into St. Andrew's Hall - This band s'inhales "By TED WATTS With fate working its hardest to destroy them with various near-disas- ters, Tad has released its first full album in two years. With J Mascis (Dinosaur Jr.) producing, "Inhaler" sounds like what the Melvins would be if they became truly commercial. Tad Inhaler Giant/Mechanic- The tone of the album is rather upbeat for a metal-labeled-as-alter- native group such as Tad. There is a positive feel due to the thrashy surf feel which has been added to the metal (or grunge, if you like) undertones of most of the songs. A strange impres- sion is produced by the various diver- gent elements it combines, making the listener feel as if he is both content and terribly sad. Not insubstantially adding to these emotions are the lyr- ics. "Ulcer" speaks of "feeling angry, feeling betrayed" while "Lycanthrope" examines the thoughts and feelings of a smelly and violent werewolf. While not actually ambiva- No 'Gimmicks' from Barkmarket here By JOSH HERRINGTON Three words: grunge on crack. "Gimmick," Barkmarket's latest album, is I a crisp, raunchy release filled with piss 'n vinegar, just dark enough that today's flannel-flock will probably overlook it, but it is worthy of attention. It is their oddity which saves Barkmarket from the depths of Se- Barkmarket attle-style anonymity. They're actu- ally from New York, but that doesn't Gimmick say much about their sound. Dave American/BMI Sardy's raspy, tumultuous vocals bring Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor to mind, or maybe even Black Francis (or whatever the hell Charles Thompson . wants to call himself). The lyrical construction itself is truly bizarre. There isn't a single repeated chorus anywhere on the album; all the lyrics seem to be spat forth at random. If you're looking for poetic construction or meaning anywhere on the album, you're going to have to look hard, damned hard. The guitar is pure power raunch, with an obedient, slamming base to give it more punch (not that it needs it). The guitar is pure power raunch, with an obedient, slamming base to give it more punch (not that it needs it). Catchy tracks like "Dumbjaw," and especially "Redundant", highlight the album with their rawness. However, Barkmarket does tend to venture a little far into obscurity with songs like "Radio Static," which resembles exactly that. But hey, they're artists or something, so they're allowed to dabble in nonsense every now and then. There's no guarantee that all Soundgarden fans are going to listen to Barkmarket with an appreciative ear-they tend to be alittle derangedat times (Barkmarket, that is). Luckily, though, in "Gimmick," their derision adds to their appeal, making the album a worthy addition to any noisy CD collection. Barkmarket plays tonight with Tad and Therapy at St. Andrews. Tad performs tonight with Therapy? and Barkmarket at St. Andrew's Hall in Detroit. What a wacky time. lent, the lyrics find enough diversity to give the impression of an amalgam to the record. Perhaps the best way to view the album is as being very heavy and very light at the same time. While songs such as "Paregoric" are nearly flow- ery, others such as "Luminol," with Mascis's piano work, are very discor- dant and prevent the album from bog- ging down in one particular sound or style. From strainedrefrains to vocals which have no place being with cer- tain types of music they are with, Tad is all over the place, but in a good way. "Inhaler" is more eclectic than is probably wise. Butamidstthe various styles is some good surf-type metal. If you like that kind of stuff, then you've 'Remains' appeals to everyone By JON ALTSHUL' Fortunately, audiences don't have to feel intimidated into enjoying "The Remains Of The Day." The old Mer- chant Ivory axiom - that one's appreciation of a film set in post-Victorian England is directly proportional to one's intelligence -- thankfully doesn't apply to their latest offering. The Remains Of The Day Directed by James Ivory; written by Ruth Prawer-Jhabvala; with Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson. "Day" is simply pure delight. Stunningly photographed and sublimely performed, the film sheepishly probes the introverted world of the noble butler Mr. Stevens (An- thony Hopkins), who is torn between loyalty and love. The picture begins circa 1960 and retraces itself 25 years to the meeting between Stevens and Miss Kenton (Emma Thompson), the new housekeeper at Darlington Hall. Darlington Hall is the Camp David of pre-WWII Britain. Presided over by the ever-aristocratic Lord Darlington (James Fox), the sprawling estate calls itself home to the most exclusive conferences of its era. And while Fox may run the country, Hopkins runs the manor. Yet England's pre-War foreign policy is hardly anti- Nazi, and Darlington, himself, becomes Germany's most influential pawn in appeasing the British elite. Stevens, then, is presented with the quintessential Modernist struggle: he must choose between loyalty and morality. Meanwhile, within the estate, Miss Kenton's brash resolve conflicts harshly with Stevens' submissive obedi- ence. Slowly, however, their painfully obstinate relation- ship blossoms into an evocatively subtle friendship. Their moments together comprise the film's most poignant moments - the farther Stevens is willing to step out of his cloistered enclave, the more profound Miss Kenton's colorful beauty becomes. Both Thompson and Hopkins are magnificent. Their mutual abilities to both love each other and despise what the other represents are hauntingly emotional. They create characters able to gracefully transcend a 20 year void with honesty and pinache. But superlative performances from Hopkins and Thompson these days seem to be standard fare. In fact, everyone, from Fox to the imperious Chris- topher Reeve, creates a palpably believable character. The cinematography is just as gripping as the acting. The lush English countryside is glorified nearly beyond recognition. Pastel suns and infrared skies perfectly em- phasize the dusk motif which symbolizes both a degener- ating England and a dying butler. If "Day" has one short-coming, though, it is that it drags on a tad too long. Certainly, the film's length perpetuates the audience's emotion, but the picture makes its point more than enough times. Still, this detraction is academic: it's not as if anyone could actually want this masterpiece to end. Of course, comparisons between "Day" and "Howard's End" are inevitable. Yet they are also in vain. Simply put, these are different films. While "End" is somewhat hyper- ambitious and even pretentious, "The Remains Of The Day" is refreshingly overt. Frankly, symbolism will never hit you this hard in the face again. THE REMAINS OF THE DA Y is playing at Showcase. got some direction, don't you? Tad will be headlining tonight's alternative-metal extravaganza at St. Andrew's Hall. Along with Tad will be Therapy? and Barkmarket. Tickets are only $8.50 in advance but you have to be 18 or over if you want to go. Sorry, kids, but it won't help to be there when doors open at 8:30. Type o Negative Bloody Kisses Roadrunner Are you negative? If so, Type O will make you feel like the world's greatest optimist in comparison. The band caters to the negative, depressed, "fuck everybody" contingent. The songs deal with such cheerful topics as blasphemy, lost love and, the in- evitable, suicide. There'salsoatongue in cheek anthem called "Kill All the White People" in which the only lyr- ics are "Kill all the white people, then we'll be free." The song is a response to their alleged racism as well as a statement on the amount of blame that should be attributed to whites in matters of race. Of course, this may be an over-analysis. Despite the attitude, this is a great record. The band has a knack for writing good songs. The tunes are well constructed compositions that borrow as much from metal as the alternative stylings of the Cure and Joy Division. In addition to the regu- lar fare of bass, drums and guitars, the band makes use of keyboards, exten- sive samples and background vocals that range from Gregorian chants to Biohazard-style gang vocals. The dark, heavy sounds of the band are well complemented by the eerie, Dracula-esque keyboards which are a welcome element in the often predict- able and limited genre of metal. Pete Steele, the songwriter, vocalist and bassist, delivers melodic, low-regis- ter vocals that are much improved over any previous releases. This guy's presence dominates the sound of the band. If the bad guy from "High- lander" joined a rock band, he'd look and sound a lot like Pete Steele. The band has taken a decidedly more pop approach to this record which is apparent in the production and sound quality. This approach has honed their craft instead of selling them out. Fans of previous releases won't be disappointed by the new sound, nor will first time listeners. This is not strictly a metal record, it has enough alternative elements to be classified as such. Hopefully, the gatekeepers of the alternative label will be in agreement. - Gianluca Montalti Hater Hater A&M Yes, this is a Soundgarden spin- off band. Matt Cameron and Ben Shepherd drum and play guitar, re- spectively, for Hater. And the line-up is the end of any type of similarity between the two bands. The tone of the album is set by the opening "Mona Bone Jakon," a Cat Stevens cover. It sounds very simple, a sort of four-track seventies throw- back. That more or less sums up the album. Most of the tracks force com- parisons to late sixties and early sev- enties crackly rock bands. Silly terms such as "crystal Led Zep" and "speed Dylan" come to mind. Such state- ments may be horribly unfair to Hater, but that does not diminish their valid- ity. The album is surprisingly good despite the above description. The song "Blistered" isprobably best seen as a potential game or kiddie-show theme with a "Hee-Haw" twang in it - this illustrates fairly well the enter- tainment value of the band. In spite of the garbled sitar-like music, Hater has fun with being kitschy, and it comes across to the listener. That's more than most of the actual seven- ties had going for it. - Ted Watts Sam Black Church Let in Life Taang! .Combining hardcore and death metal is not anew idea, but the match is near perfect in concept. The frantic rhythms and even more frantic time changes that are the staples of hardcore mix well with the horror movie metal extremes of DM (not that DM!). One would think the marriage would be successful. The combination of ex- tremes should be a greater extreme and a new and improved way to get your ya-yas out. Right? Well, Sam Black Church falls short of these ex- pectations. Firstofall, the soundquality stinks. This should not be a concern if the music makes up for it. Unfortunately, Sam Black Church falls victim to the riff-oriented rock trap. When you live by the riff, you die by the riff. When that's all you have to offer, you better make sure they're great. Some of the better riffs show up in "Captain of the World", "Guardian of Hopes and Dreams" and "Re-Alive." Since the highlights are the first three songs and they're not all that great, you can imagine the dive into the filler mate- rial is no pleasant experience. The vocals are one of the few things you remember about this band. I would call them original ifthatdidn't connote a good, which they aren't. Jet's vocals are more hardcore than the dreaded death metal vocals, but the crazy, incomprehensible flow is annoying. If you like to mosh around your room, you like Pantera and you don't mind poor sound quality and even poorer songs, rush on out and get it! - Gianluca Montalti Morgoth Odium Century Media The notion of formula is more prevalent in death metal than most other forms of music. You start out with a one word name connoting evil (e.g. Deicide, Dismember, Vader the list goes on), slap on an eerie wasteland on the CD cover and write Black Sabbath and Celtic Frost style riffs that get pieced together into hap- hazard, herky-jerky songs. You ei- ther love itorhate it. Most people hate it. Rest assured that this release will not change any of that. There is little on this record that hasn't been done before. There are a few stand-out songs such as the al- most funky "Under the Surface" and the industrial attempt "War Inside." Most of the CD, however, is kind of dull and repetitive. 1 Should you get this disc? Only if you meet the following criteria: You've heard death metal vocals and can endure them for prolonged inter- vals, German death metal happens to be your favorite variety and you need to complete your Morgoth library. If you're interested in the genre and you'd like to pick up a "good" death metal disc, try Obituary's "Cause of Death" or Death's "Scream Bloody Gore". I suggest you don't play them in mixed company. - Gianluca Montalti D:Ream On Giant Records D:Ream are one of Britain's hot- test dance-pop exports in recent years.4 Irish vocalist Peter Cunnah and Scot- tish DJ Al Mackenzie blend power- ful, hook-filled songs with disco magic, making "On" a non-stop pa- rade of potential dance smashes. "U RThe Best Thing," the album's first single, has already hit No. 1 on the Billboard dance chart here in the States. Potential hits like "Take Me Away," "I Like It" and "So Long Movin' On" all have a fun, moving I bass guitar over top avery discoesque, synthesized violin sound. "On"makes housework and other physical activi- ties more fun because it is a feel-good album. D:Ream have also created a name for themselves as one of Britain's hottest remixers. They've recently worked with Duran Duran and EMF. - Jim Whitaker I Presenin .. The University of Michigan & Ohio State U iversitt in the 134th Annual Fall Concert T wit/i ?re4 Triars d& Pie ?ioveaires Feoturng: Bob McGrath.' 54 of *Sesame Street' Ara Berberian,.'52 New York Metropolitan Opera David Colohan. 53 Richard Frank.'53 $ _ _+-, ALPHA PHI ALPHA FRATERNITY, INC presents