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Album Reviews : Butcher Babies – Take It Like A Man

By on August 31, 2015

butcherbabiestakecdSo, what am I taking and from which man am I taking it? Obviously the title of Butcher Babies‘ new album isn’t meant to refer to anything, it just sounds edgy and hip and makes the teeny bopper fan boys moist for listening to it. Speaking of teeny bopper fan boys, after listening to the album the whole way through, I was left with the faint reek of nu metal in my orifices, but I couldn’t tell from which part exactly. Butcher Babies seems to be either an incredibly light groove metal band, or a less melodic post-hardcore band, but the attitude of nu metal seems to permeate the music, almost as if Take It Like A Man was making out with Soulfly in the corner while thinking about Otep to get itself off.

The instruments on this album are sharply produced, and the riffs come across as crisp and precise. Once listened to a few times, it can be ascertained that a bit of effort was actually put in to ensure that certain riffs didn’t sound too recycled and generic, however this can be lost on the first play through due to the mixing. The drums are competently played and do a good job of accentuating the oft unheard song highlights. The obvious central focus of the band is unfortunately the two frontwomen, who I can imagine came into one of the first band rehearsals unannounced and proceeded to mark their territory with bodily fluids, duct tape and shittily written female aggression. Some women, Angela Gossow being a notable example, can rock screaming harder than men. These two can’t. They essentially heavily wheeze and grunt over the band with unearned gusto, which is a real shame, because it seems like the rest of the band were forced to reign it in to make way for…this fiasco.

The album opens up with the clichéd attempt at Maria Brink style carnival appeal in “Monster’s Ball,” but fails to be anything but laughable. Butcher Babies takes a shot at more thrashy territory in “Igniter,” “The Cleansing,” and “The Butcher,” but ultimately gets crushed under the mandated amount of female whispering, faux-creepy passages and corny lyrics. “Gravemaker” is one of the better songs on the album, as an almost Gojira-inspired groove procession and some genuinely cool ambiance. “Thrown Away” tones down everything for a soft, angsty ballad, but it’s alright I guess. The rest of the album throws in the towel and just succumbs to the temptation of having steamy public restroom affairs with nu metal while trying to maintain the pretense of “real metal.” “For the Fight” is a decent rock song, but it isn’t anything we haven’t seen before in the past.

Take It Like A Man is at best an average “neo thrash” album with an palpable sales gimmick that maintains but does little to inspire, which is sad considering there is obvious talent being stifled behind the two show boating female leads’ irate stench. Sure, both Heidi and Carla are hot, but in this day and age isn’t every female metal lead? A metal band with a gimmick, in most cases such as this, can’t be a selling point. Now excuse me, I’m off to listen to Babymetal.

About

Benjen is a qualified teacher residing in the south-east suburbs of Perth. Benjen was introduced to hard rock at the age of 12 with Papa Roach's "Love-Hate Tragedy," and has developed a love for hard rock and metal since. He also has a keen interest in gaming and almost every fandom imaginable, from Doctor Who to Deadpool. He can be followed on Twitter @thetoadmode