RATING: *****
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GRAVITY KILLS Gravity Kills (1996) Virgin/EMI [39:19] by Marianne Goh Things to do before listening to a Gravity Kills album (on a quiet Sunday afternoon): Crank up the volume of the stereo. Open your windows. Get your grandparents out of the house. And last but not least, stretch your neck muscles before the inevitable headbanging starts. Banned in Boston, unwelcome in New York, Gravity Kills (Jeff Scheel - vocals, Kurt Kerns - Bass/Drums, Matt Dudenhoeffer - guitars, Douglas Firley - keyboards) seems to be rapidly creating a controversial name for itself. The band's raw industrial sound, fused with heavy guitar playing, has got them featured on several soundtracks. "Guilty", the track that appears in the film SE7EN, is the single that has been taking America by storm. And probably Singapore soon as well. "Goodbye" can be found on the MORTAL KOMBAT soundtrack and "Blame" on ESCAPE FROM L.A's. Having notched up such impressive credential-establishing achievements for a new band, they will definitely be giving Nine Inch Nails a run for their money. "Guilty", the single, will appeal to the audience. With it's heavy industrial sound coupled with Jeff Scheel's hoarse voice, the whole atmosphere is one of riding a Harley in the dark, dank, dirty alleys of New York City. The lyrics often repeat themselves, thus giving a hypnotic quality to the song. "And I'm guilty, and I'm guilty, and I'm guilty, and I'm guilty/and you're guilty too." It sounds like the revving of a motor- cycle engine, and it's understandable why critics are raving about them. However, song after song begins to sound alike and the excitement you first feel at the beginning of the album starts to decline. The experience is not unlike that of having your petrol tank empty while you're driving from Jurong to the East Coast. All the songs just lead you to lower depths of despair, and by the fourth track you start to wonder if the singer's got a lot of anguish, or he's been dumped by his girlfriends too many times. I must admit that my favourite is "Enough" (perhaps a case of my subconscious telling me that I've had enough?) The disturbing melody paints the image of a haunting train ride. The lyrics also appear to be thought-provoking: "I love the thrill, I love the scene/Imagine you in the white light, so beautiful, you watch me bleed." This definitely should be their next single. Then the others basically revert to the album's general monotony. The last track is an anti-climax. "Never" has a weird truck horn sound that makes the whole song sound absurd. It spoils whatever image that Gravity Kills might have been trying to portray in the song. Buy this album only if you're tired of Nine Inch Nails.
Marianne Goh hopes to run the Bollywood scene in the future and to bring about dancing amongst coconut trees on an international scale.
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