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Big Black's influence was strong on
Slug's early recordings, including singles
Hambone City and Rubberape. It was scary stuff: a melange of
noise-rock and industrial-music that defied definition (and harmony).
Guitarist Todd Williams' guitar noise
and singer Steve Ratter's agonizing howl,
plus an assorted chaos of turntables and hip-hop rhythms, not to mention
the monster assault of two basses, turn Swingers (Magnatone, 1993)
into a horrid symphony for the post-industrial age.
The 13-minute title-track is the industrial-music equivalent of a romantic
sonata.
Had they lived through Public Enemy, Sonic Youth and dub,
Pere Ubu would have sounded like this.
A not so negligible influence may come from drummer Tomas Palermo's second
identity, as a techno, dub and hip-hop disc jockey.
The Out Sound (PCP, 1994) is a far more cohesive affair. The band,
augmented with Ultra Vivid Scene's bassist
Collin Rae, spends more time developing its ideas. Several songs
(Ex-chest, Aurora F) sound like
Cop Shoot Cop compositions.
The most adventurous track is Coordinate Points, an ambient-dub piece
that is unusually focused for this wild bunch of rockers.
The double-CD The Three Man Themes (PCP, 1995) achieves an impressive
balance of ambient music (The Grey Man),
dub (Distinct Room), world-music (Kayamba Dance),
shoegazing (Unesque), and noise-rock (The Gentle Man).
Vastly enhanced keyboard work by Ratter work magic. The usual guitar barrage
lays down a carpet for fragmented melodies and schizophrenic rhythms to
indulge in dissonant orgies.
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Gli Slug sono un sestetto (con due chitarristi e due bassisti) costruito
attorno al cantante Steve Ratter (e alle numerose voci "trovate")
che puo` essere considerato fra gli estremisti del grunge:
la title-track di Swingers (Magnatone, 1992) dura tredici minuti e ripete
ossessivamente un accordo come una sinfonia di Branca, mentre la maggioranza
degli altri brani nascono all'incrocio fra Flipper e Big Black.
Quell'album
raccoglie parte del materiale pubblicato su diversi singoli (e altri ne
seguiranno, fra cui Hambone City e Rubberape).
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