62 minutes, 40 seconds

Amduscia
Melodies for the Devil

Just as in the 19th century, when German emigres brought their beer-making techniques to Mexico, so it appears in the 1990s they exported harsh industrial music to the land of ranchera and salsa. And like Corona, Bohemia, Tecate, and other light lagers that imitate the German style, Hocico, Cenobita, Amduscia, and others pound and growl (and, um, program the presets on their synths) just as well as their Teutonic forefathers.

But if it's possible to distinguish a Mexican beer's flavor from that of a German or American lager--and I think it is--it's not always possible to do so with Mexican industrial music and its counterpart in Europe. I'm not sure, for example, that I could tell you what the difference is between Amduscia and Agonoize.

Which is a little depressing but also a little fascinating. I'm continually amazed at how global this music has become. No matter where he's from, the singer in these bands always sounds like he's swallowed a handful of thumbtacks and chased them with a shot glass full of iron filings. He might sing in his native language once in a while, but it hardly matters--it's not like you can pick out the lyrics amid the extreme vocal distortion.

Maybe the internationalization of industrial music is still too new to have developed distinct regional styles. Or maybe the problem lies with me--I haven't trained my ears well enough to decipher the subtle differences between Psyclon Nine and Aslan Faction. But I like to think I can recognize new and groundbreaking "industrial" music when I hear it, and I don't hear it in these bands. Instead, I hear something frozen in time (Leæther Strip, circa Solitary Confinement) and as moribund as blues music.

Hate to end on a downer note, especially on a Friday. So I'll leave you with this.

Also today:

62:39 Aslan Faction, Blunt Force Trauma
62:39 Beefcake, ¥003 + ¥024 + 2X = ¥727
62:38 Mnemonic, Konstruktive Vergangenheitsbewältigung (CD 2 of 2)
62:37 Vas, In the Garden of Souls
62:35 In the Nursery, Anatomy of a Poet
62:34 Toroidh, Testament
62:33 Les Joyaux de la Princesse, Aux Volontaires Croix de Sang
62:33 Project Pitchfork, Entities