Pink Panther Party |Season Of Mist, 2009| 
1. ....Than A Thousand Suns, 2. Shiva Only Is God, 3. End Of The Western World, 4. (My Name Is) Legion, 5. A Russian Lullaby, 6. Zmeya, 7. Born In Thorns / Torn To Pieces, 8. Deadmeatpetroleum, 9. This Is My Body, This Is My Gasoline, 10. Satan Buddies, 11. You Ain't Got Me, 12. Welcome To Now
Punish Yourself made us used to their noisy, dynamic songs filled with characteristic arrangements which can't be compared to anybody's else music. Their recognizability has been created also by the lead singer's voice and the musicians' artistic stage performances when their bodies are painted with UV colours which look actually found many followers in the USA as well.
The newest album brings similar though much heavier tunes than the previous album published in 2007 and it is opened by an intriguing intro as usually.
There's a lot of tension and aggression kept in the new songs as if the band was fighting their own inner demons and so the album sounds very loud to me. Actually I found it difficult to adjust the volume level.
Other tan that I really enjoyed a truly industrial metal song „Born In Thorns / Torn To Pieces”, post punk „You Ain't Got Me” and a bit demonic „Welcome To Now”.
A song „(My Name Is) Legion” could be Punish Yourself's representative track while it's very well arranged, aggressive yet easy to remember, perfectly matching radio shows and podcasts as well.
There are sort of cyber suites on Pink Panther Party like „Satan Buddies” and „A Russian Lullaby”, the other connected in an interesting way with its follower - „Zmeya”. Finally „Deadmeatpetroleum” would match any dark movie very well.
The band bet on loudness and aggression this time but the album lacks a concept with the songs hardly overlapping one another. At the same time Punish Yourself is one of not many cyber/industrial bands from old Europe which created its image without following any trends, to intersect the influences with something meaningful and their very own. Let's add their hard yet creative work and all above features stand for my rating.
(Katarzyna 'NINa' Górnisiewicz. Must not be used for promotional or commercial purposes. See a Legal Note for the copyrights below)
Gore Baby Gore |Active Entertainment, 2006|
XX (Judgement), Come on Come on, Dead-White Skin, Mothra Lady, The Dexedrine Ritual, XVI (The Tower), Sister Apocalypse, Worms, VIII (Strength), Gun, Las Vegas 2060's, Voodoo Virus, Doctor Doom
I recall a few bands who drew attention of fans because of an interesting image related to UV rays reactive paint spread on the musicians' bodies. Punish Yourself comes from France and besides their typical stage image, they put lots of efforts in searching for new paths of improving.
Gore Baby Gore is the newest album by Punish Yourself, altho reviewed a year after its official release date. Thanx to the band who's been looking for promotion, I can share with you my views now :)
The songs are a bit different to those released on their debut album Sexplosive Locomotive, but this was announced in an interview we did last year with the band. Gore Baby Gore includes a variety of tunes, many musical styles and influences, from punk through disco, industrial to soundtrack-like songs.
I'm totally enchanted by Worms from the very first listening, with its dark intro and a moderate, almost trance rhythm. After watching Punish Yourself DVD I still have a memory of a woman featuring in a movie preceding Worms performance:"I never try anything. I just do it." Very suggestive! I liked also the song called Mothra Lady, altho we got some dance rhythms, similar to those in Gun track.
The tracklist is shared by a few songs kept in an atmosphere appearing usually in soundtracks (VIII (Strength), or XX (Judgement)). Other than that Sister Apocalypse includes a kind of psychodelic element (because of the saxophone sound) and looks like Punish Yourself was influenced by music of Angelo Badalamenti, known from, for instance The Lost Highway (dir. by David Lynch) movie. The Dexedrine Ritual sounds cool mostly to guitar riffs and the whole dynamics.
Get the CD and support Punish Yourself in their expressive activity, moreover you definitely should appreciate their devotion to painting their bodies (yes, this paint burns!) and successful attempts to blend many styles of music. It's also worth to mention that Gore Baby Gore is promoted by a very spectacular DVD video entitled "Night Of The Voodoo Gun live".
(Katarzyna 'NINa' Górnisiewicz. Must not be used for promotional or commercial purposes. See a Legal Note for the copyrights below)
Sexplosive Locomotive |Sriracha Records, 2004|
Gay Boys In Bondage, Primitive, Rock'N'Roll Machine, Holy Trinh Thi, Eastern Western, CNN War, See Ya Later Aligator, Gimme Cocaine, U.S.D (We Are Ready), Shadowsteelplastic, They Don't Want You, T4 Song
Punish Yourself performs predatory music with the punk spirit. It's noisy, the vocals are screamed, but the proportion between electronics and guitars is balanced. They can play like a spectre of bands to begin with Lard through White Zombie, Marilyn Manson, PIL, Sex Pistols, KMFDM and to finish with Ministry. They attract attention thanx to the UV paint they use to decorate their bodies during the shows. There are a few good songs on this record like CNN War, Primitive, Rock'n' Roll Machine. Maybe their music might not stick in your memory but you will have great fun during listening them at any of PY show so pay attention if they play in your city!
(Katarzyna 'NINa' Górnisiewicz. Must not be used for promotional or commercial purposes. See a Legal Note for the copyrights below)
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