Tuesday, February 9, 2010

REVIEW: I, Parasite - The Sick Are Not Healing

7.25 out of 10

Growing up I listened to a lot of Industrial music, in-fact if it wasn't Industrial I didn't really care. One of the bands that stands out the most from my "heavier/darker/more depressed" listening days was I, Parasite. The album "On This Cold Floor", I, Parasite's third official album was and is one of the BEST Industrial Rock albums of all time (seriously it's f&*^ing amazing, I have to go back to it constantly to remind myself what Industrial Rock music should sound like). It is one of the most underrated albums I own, consider it a must have if you're a NIN fan. Christopher Jon (I, Parasite) also co-wrote some music for Android Lust who is another Industrial band I could go on and on about (if you haven't heard Android Lust check them out now). Anyways, that was my listening preference from the ages of about 13 to about 22, I just couldn't get enough of that "angsty-metallic-mechanical beat". Since then I have gone on to listen to more "soothing"/"ambient"/"laid-back" music, I guess through out the years I just settled down and became less "angry"/way more relaxed. There was almost a point in my life when I wanted to give up on music in general, because the music that had shaped me as a teenager was going down hill and I didn't want to go with it, I needed something new. That being said, it's rare that I purchase a new "Industrial" album these days, I only really go back to the bands that I consider "must owns". Once I heard about a new I, Parasite album I had to know more, and I gotta tell you, although the wait was long (and somewhat unbearable), it was worth it.

Nearly 6 years after the release of "On This Cold Floor" I was beginning to wonder if I, Parasite would ever even release another album, there were bits and pieces of new songs that would pop up on his page, but no solid release date was ever posted. Well, it seems (this time) patience paid off, "The Sick Are Not Healing" delivers the same "punch" as older IP material and it continues to show off off Mr. Jon's stronger than most production skills. Although Experimental-Industrial music (Coil, Throbbing Gristle, Tuxedomoon, The Young Gods, etc.) is definably one of my favorite genres of music I have found that the Industrial world has gone stale. It has become overrun with EBM commercialism, there is no such thing as originality anymore, leave it to I, Parasite to defy this crappy rule that I call the "Metropolis Empire". On "The Sick Are Not Healing" Christopher continues where "On This Cold Floor" left off with his "beyond what should be asked of any producer" producing skills, classic Industrial arrangements, Heavy Metal/Rock guitar riffs/drum beats, colder than ice synthesized dins, and vocals that go from despondent to angrier than a heart broken teenager. This is exactly how I want my Industrial music when I want it heavy, not only "heavy sounding", but "heavy hearted" and well though out. To Christopher Jon; Thank You, don't stop doing what you do so wonderfully. With solid albums like this, it's hard to understand why anyone would want to listen to the current "Industrial (the quotes are important here)" movement going on. What today's generation of so-called "rivet heads" have so easily ruined, you are trying to rebuild..For that I am forever in your debt.

The angst, the originality, the movement of REAL Industrial music has indeed long been gone, but during this dark period, there are few shining moments, I, Parasite being one of them. "The Sick Are Not Healing" is easily one of the best Industrial Rock albums I have heard since the late 90's. Recommended.

Standout Tracks: The Stone Doctor, Unwanted Visions II, A Violence At Rest, Moths, The Flatterer

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