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Album Reviews : Bateman – SMUT

By on June 30, 2014

Dig your music abrasive, heavy, sweaty and with a generous side of depravity? Well you’re in luck because Melbourne’s Bateman tick all these boxes and more. Sounding like the drunken love child between Gay Paris and Every Time I Die, Bateman’s debut album SMUT is a solid slab of energetic, Southern fried party tunes.

The noisy opener ‘LHATSA’ introduces the band, where the sleazy, southern riffs of ‘Red Wine Blues’ mark an open invitation to the Bateman party “Break out the champagne, break out the wine”. Upbeat and abrasive, with an opening riff that could go on for days, this track is easily one of the highlights of the record. The transition from this track in to ‘Temper Temper’ is seamless, while raising the tempo and energy levels once again.

Front man Gaz Williams’ vocal delivery and phrasing is very different to what you may call the norm in today’s modern metal/hardcore scenes. This as a result may take many listeners a while to get used to in the beginning, although it is clear that upon repeated listens to the album that the honesty, abrasive nature and refreshing delivery of his vocal style is one of the main strengths of the band.

The sludge influenced title track breaks up the album, while bringing down the tempo and showcases a different side to the band. It is clear this album is built with a serious consideration for their live show in mind though, and tracks such as ‘Jabroni’, the Gallows influenced ‘Cheers’ and ‘4UDaFanz’, all serving to smash home this mentality and raise the intensity levels on the album.

Closing it all out with the darkly menacing track ‘The Cheap Seats’, jam packed with solid riffs, beefy bass lines and crashing drums, before fading out to the sweet sounds of nothing to give the listener some respite from the aural onslaught that is SMUT.

Bateman are about as far removed from the generic sounds of modern heavier music scenes, than you can get. As a result SMUT is a refreshing change of pace and a solid album from start to finish. If any of this review has perked your interest in the band, it is highly recommended that you check out their great one take video for ‘Red Wine Blues’ and then head over to their Bandcamp page where you can stream/download SMUT in its entirety for free!

Band:  Bateman
Album: SMUT
Year: 2014
Genre:  Hardcore/Rock/Metal
Label: Self Released
Origin: Melboune, Victoria

Track list:
1. LHATSA
2. Red Wine Blues
3. Temper Temper
4. Smut
5. Jabroni
6. Cheers
7. QWERTY Guy
8. 4UDaFanz
9. Papa Merciless
10. The Cheap Seats

About

In his spare time, between being a slave to the grind, contributing to MetalObsession.net and hitting up as many local/international gigs as possible. Gareth also contributes to Dutch based metal-zine MetalRage.com, books the odd show under the Inherit Earth moniker and plays drums for Sydney-based bands Whisky Smile and Swamp Harlot.