For one minute and six seconds there is peace. A tranquil soundscape, almost Tangerine Dream like, beckons the listener to venture closer to the misty water’s edge. BIG mistake!
The behemoth that is Army Of Flying Robots stretches a blackened arm of partially stripped rotting flesh out of the cold, dark water, grabs the inquisitor by the throat and drags them into the murky depths. It’s a quick death.
Suddenly there is noise! Twenty-eight minutes of brutal hardcore to be more precise – eleven tracks of total mayhem from this established Nottingham- based band. They have been touring across Europe for the best part of ten years, but previous recorded output has amounted to only a handful of 7” and split EPs. ‘Life Is Cheap,’ the debut album will be welcomed by hardcore fans everywhere.
Although it would be difficult for the listener to elicit from the vocals, the sleeve notes indicate that this band is well read and has a social conscience that perhaps belies their aggressive style of music. It is certainly not all about demons and satanic pursuits. Not at all, in fact.
As is to be expected with this genre though, the pace is frenetic, the music loud and the vocals screamed. The first five tracks on initial listening tend to merge somewhat, and with a combined timing only slightly in excess of seven minutes can pass by the listener – albeit somewhat raucously! From here, though, it all becomes far more interesting. ‘Embodiment’ starts with a pulsating bass- line and clean atmospheric guitar, and building for about two minutes before furiously kicking in. Similarly, the following track, ‘The House Of Butterflies’ builds from a metal-style intro, and just when it can’t possibly become any faster, it somehow breaks all the laws of physics and just does, before breaking down to a bass-line only to explode once more! ‘In Hell’ is the track with the most discernible or conventional beat, but it is still unlikely to attract the attention of mainstream Radio.
I seem to remember, though, the late John Peel playing Army Of Flying Robots…… and that’s good enough for me!