Collide |Atlantic/Pioneer Music Group, 1998|

01. People Mover, 02. I Hardly Know Myself, 03. Rainbow, 04. The Hairdresser, 05. My Infection, 06. Another, 07. Waiting, 08. Mass Transit, 09. Future 1970, 10. Uncle Dick, 11. Habitual

"Does it move you?"

That's what Full on the Mouth asks on their opening track to their debut album, Collide. Well, I'm gonna see if this album really does move me or not.

Their opening track (titled "People Mover") is a good anthem. One of the reasons is due to Full on the Mouth's ability to create a kickass guitar riff throughout the entire song. But also throughout the entire song is Mr. Dwight Mohrman's vocals. Now on some songs off of Collide, Dwight isn't so bad. But when he makes his voice high-pitched (such as in "People Mover"), then it is a bad thing. I'll touch up on that later, though.

The next songs, "I Hardly Know Myself" and "Rainbow," both has their own distinct guitar lines. But "Rainbow" sticks out a lot more. The bass line drives over half of the song, which is a nice change to the album's lineup.

"The Hairdresser" is one hell of an awkward song. During the chorus, an eerie violin (or modified keyboard, I don't know) is played. This goes way beyond the call of duty for industrial rock. The next song, "My Infection," isn't so surprising. It has the typical high-pitched voice of Dwight, and the memorable guitar riff.

But it's the follow-up, named "Another," which is remarkable. Driven by a heavy bass line and a memorable guitar riff, "Another" is Full on the Mouth's standout track. In addition, it's one of the few tracks to not feature Dwight attempting to break the glass by singing high-pitched. It's a perfect example of industrial rock (or industrial metal for all of you ‘80s freaks, I don't really care how you define it).

"Waiting" shows a softer side to Full on the Mouth. While not completely watered down like the end of the album (I'll talk about that in a bit), it still kicks up a notch halfway through. "Mass Transit" is extremely similar to "I Hardly Know Myself," with the usual distinct guitar lines.

The last remarkable track on the album is "Future 1970." The chorus features Dwight's vocals and a trippy guitar line, making it an interesting experience. But the lyrics made me cock my eyebrow a few times. "I would say before too long, we may see the Jetsons. And I'll fly my bubble through the milky way." I think at this point, I became convinced that Dwight's lyrics aren't the best among the industrial rock scene.

"Uncle Dick" and "Habitual" are the last two tracks on the album. Now, prior to this release, came a little something known as Nine Inch Nails. Nine Inch Nails decided to take industrial rock, and create slower-sounding songs, such as the famous "Hurt." Fast forward a few years later, and you got industrial rock bands attempting to do the same thing. Note that I said ATTEMPTING.

Both songs are very similar in structure and sound, so I won't break down each. Now, take Dwight's lack of creating remarkable lyrics, and combine that with an acoustic guitar (or during "Habitual," a toned down electric guitar), a repetitive bass line, and Dwight's high-pitched voice. What you get are two songs that are worth skipping. And what I described is what they exactly sound like.

So, overall, Full on the Mouth would seem to be a promising band. Hell, they landed a spot in the video game Road Rash 3D, had a music video made for "People Mover," and had Dwight Mohrman's industrial rock reputation (he had previously worked with Filter on their critically-acclaimed Short Bus album). But what happened? Nothing. The band faded into nothing. Pity, since this album DID move me around a bit. (Xenerki)

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