Katarzyna NINa Górnisiewicz | Review submission: About | Suggest an artist

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Dusted |Metal Blade, 1994|

01. In Tongues, 02. Seeded, 03. Picasso Trigger, 04. Albatross, 05. Jesus Skrew Superstar, 06. Skrew Saves, 07. Season for Whither, 08. Sour, 09. Mouthful of Dust, 10. Godsdog

The second album from the Skrew discography entitled Dusted includes all the familiar attributes of true industrial metal patterns. The year 1994 seemed to bloom with the best albums ever released (not only guitar driven or alternative music related), thus Skrew ideally fit into this era which was one of the most interesting periods of time in rock music history.

The Dusted album brings with it a set of ten heavy, rhythmic, red hot songs thanks to the guitars, powerful drum beats and aggressive vocals in a fusion of dynamic orchestration.

First of all, Tom Baker (Ministry, Nine Inch Nails, Danzig, Marilyn Manson, Disturbed) was adamant about the quality production of Dusted before sending the album to Critter (Die Warzau, 13 Mg., Econoline Crush), Bill Garcelon (Monster Voodoo Machine, Chemlab, Sister Machine Gun) and Mike Tholen (Chris Connelly, Armageddon Dildos, Iron Lung Corp.) who each did segments of the mixing which overall was a big achievement; additionally granting a clear and professional sound on the album.

Second, the list of musicians involved with this release may cause an unhealthy excitement amongst the fans of guitar driven industrial music: Brian Leisgang (programming, Filter, 13 Mg., Nine Inch Nails), Mike Riggs and Clay Campbell (guitars). Mike Riggs collaborated with Rob Zombie, then recorded music with Clay Campbell on an album for Mike's band Scum of The Earth. There's also Jim Vollentine (keyboards, Auschwitz 46), Mark Dufour (drums), Brandon Workman (bass) and of course, the founder of Skrew - Adam Grossman (guitar and vocals).

This album couldn't have been done wrong. Gigantic sounds and as many as three guitar players have become a trademark of Skrew, however some people were cracking their heads to obtain such an extensive line-up during this phenomenal time in the history of the genre.

There are no bad songs on Dusted and to be honest with you, it enlists all hits.
As usual, in terms of Skrew, there's some murky intro ("In Tongues") which opens the album. Then, the listener is exposed to the fundamental content which represents this release. Genuine guitar solos and very thrifty sampling create a dynamically heavy, tight and diabolical sound for songs like "Seeded", "Albatross", "Skrew Saves", "Season for Whither", "Mouthful of Dust" and hits such as those best known from Skrew like - "Picasso Trigger" as well as "Jesus Skrew Superstar".

"Godsdog" is a composition with a palindrome-type title that stands out from the entire tracklist because of its larger than life sampling contributions as well as solutions borrowed from trance music.

In contrast to modern melodies presented by so called “industrial metal bands”, this huge, intense sound from Skrew describes the true elements of industrial metal at its the best, giving patterns to learn from and follow. The Dusted album is highly recommended for the fans of Ministry, Testify, N17 and American Head Charge.

(Katarzyna 'NINa' Górnisiewicz, Fabryka Magazine, 12/16/2012 - update. Proofreading: Scott M. Owens. This review must not be used for promotional or commercial purposes. See a Legal Note for the copyrights below)