I wasn't sure what to expect, except that I thought it would be loud, chaotic, and angry. What emanated from my speakers was right in line with what I expected, but in a different and unexpected way. It was not nearly as chaotic as I had expected, I expected them to be along lines similar to early Slipknot, when in actuality they would probably be better described as Slipknot by way of Nine Inch Nails with a touch of Orgy. They do have a thickly layered sound, filled with guitars and heavy percussion and plenty of synth, but it is more finely controlled than early Slipknot. I am not talking bad about Slipknot, but I think they got better the further they got along. Musically, Deadstar Assembly seems to be further down the maturing path.
The other band I can think of to compare them to would be God Lives Underwater. Both of these bands use a lot of electronics in creative ways, both within the familiar song structure of the rock song. The format has a fresh, yet familiar feel to it, instantly accessible but not at the cost of originality or edginess.I was immediately hooked on Unsaved. This is an album that has a great flow straight through from start to finish. It has an ebb and flow that just takes you along for the ride. I was caught in the swirl of keyboards and electronics that flowed through and around the driving guitars, while the raw vocals make their aggressive mark known.
Unsaved opens with the intro track "Unsaved Pt. 1," introducing us to the heavy guitars, ethereal synths, incessant drums, of what is to come. What I like most about this opening was the use of acoustic guitars, they are faint, but add an ambiance that is as inviting as it is eerie. That opening flows right into the in you face aggression of "Unsaved Pt. 2."
"Killing Myself Again" and "Dejected" gather a head of steam with their outsider lyrics that seek to unite the downtrodden. They have this fantastic order through chaos aura that is testament to their strong songwriting abilities.
Deadstar Assembly slow the pace down with "Bled." There is a cry for attention in the line "I am more than nothing." This is a strong cut that leads into the final aggressive push as we head down the albums home stretch. The last song is "Death Wish." It starts off with a sample before moving into some hardcore synth/guitar action. It moves into the final closing track, "Perfectly Destroyed," an eerie guitar riff with a light synth played over the top of it, bringing Unsaved to an end.
The band is made up of vocalist Dearborn, who has a great voice, that is equally raw and inviting, guitarist Dreggs, drummer Cygnus, and bassist The Dro. I believe they all have a hand in the electronic side of the album, and they all shared producing duties. The final product is an album that I am glad made it's way to my collection.
Bottomline. An excellent combination of industrial and pop, with a distinctly harsh edge to it. This album was a surprise to me, displaying a well developed sense of songwriting. Unsaved hides within it songs that must be insane to see live. If you like death-pop and industrial rock, this is for you.
Recommended.
The album gets off to a great start with "Suck it Up," which features a sample of Michael Buffer's famous "Let's get ready to...." line before getting into a great groove the gets you moving to it. That leads us into "Bartender," another great goove leads us through this track. Before I start leading you through all of the tracks, let me hit on a few of my favorites.
Jeff is a great on the turntables, listen to him on tracks like "The Magnificient Jazzy Jeff" and "The Groove (Jazzy's Groove)," both on this disk, which showcase his abilities. Then we have the Fresh Prince, a charismatic personality, even at this young age, a smooth playful style on the mic, he just flat out holds your attention.
The basic frame of the movie has anthropologist, Professor Harold Monroe, heading off to the Amazon in search of four documentary filmmakers who had disappeared months earlier. Once there, he, along with his guide, come into contact with one of the indigenous tribes, a tribe that, you guessed it, still practices cannibalism. Monroe's adventure concludes with him not finding the filmmakers, but instead recovering their spent film. Monroe brings the film back to New York, where a television network is looking to use the footage to garner high ratings. That is the first third of the movie. The final two thirds focus on the assembled footage. The footage has the foursome heading into the jungles. That is it, in the most basic sense.
A big question for this film is whether it was made as pure exploitation, or if the "message" was the actual intent. It is possible that the message was a by product of Deodato trying to somehow legitimize the picture. There doesn't seem to be any consensus in what I have read online, it seems that many have the same question I do. It also seems that the director, himself, wavers when faced with the question.
Intended or not, that is definitely a plus to the film. The problem is actually getting to it, despite how heavy handed it may seem, the shocking exploitation is hard to get through. Before we get to that, and I am purposely putting it off, I want to take a look at the characters, specifically, just how unlikeable the vast majority of them are. There is only one character that shows the hint of a heart.
film to have animal violence, I am sure most of you are familiar with the end of Apocalypse Now, that features the slaughter of a bull? This movie, however, is on a completely other level. Five animals are killed on camera, none are easy to watch, and none were necessary. They don't even wait all that long, as the first instance is a mere 20 minutes in. The one to get the most attention is the sea turtle. This was a terrible site, watching as this creature, estimated to have been over 100 years old, is dragged out of the water and cut up will still alive, it is making me sick just thinking about it. Those involved try to cover themselves by the fact that most of the animals were eaten afterwords, but I find that to be a thin line, and one that needn't be crossed.
This is not the goriest or bloodiest movie I have seen, but it is all presented in such a way that you believe it all. I still cannot believe that I actually watched the entire thing. This is a stomach turner in every sense.
Bob Munro (Williams) is introduced as a family man, sharing a moment with his young daughter. We jump ahead a number of years and we are reintroduced to Bob, a workaholic who is trying to plan a Hawaii getaway with his family. He has a heartless boss who needs him for a presentation in Colorado, they were in LA, which conflicts, of course, with said Hawaii trip. Bob gets the great idea of renting a RV and driving the family to a vacation spot of his childhood. Of course, this is all a ruse so he could make it to the meeting and still have a vacation.
What else can I say about this flick? It wasn't funny, the jokes played themselves out rather quickly. When they thought they caught onto something funny, they would play it way beyond the edge of it actually being funny.