By Jordan Fritz
GET TO THA CHOPPAAA!
Arnold Shwartzenegger jokes aside, Goblin Cock’s sophomore album Come With Me If You Want To Live is definitely worth a spin. Opening with ambient thunder and dissonant acoustic guitar, things quickly get heavier than a death in the family. Sludgeful down-tuned guitars unleash an onslaught upon your ears while the clean, penetrating vocals are a bastion of light in contrast to the doom invoked by the music. Those familiar with Pinback should promptly recognize the vocal delivery as that of Rob Crow, performing under the guise of Lord Phallus.
Ranging from metal blastin’ enough to make Black Sabbath look like Donny and Marie to smooth melodic musings a la the Deftones, Goblin Cock runs the gamut of loudness. Never taking things too seriously, clever and humorous song titles and lyrics maintain a surprisingly light atmosphere on an album that could otherwise score the young and elderly. “Beneath the Valley of the Island of the Misfit Toys” harkens back to the classic Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer holiday special, while “We Got A Bleeder” offers a humorous look at hurting stuff. All of this helps make Come With Me If You Want To Live stand out in a genre that has become more or less stagnant because of the rules of what makes a sludge band sludge.