From BIBLE OF THE DEVIL to LAIR OF THE MINOTAUR to USURPER to the almighty classic lineup of TROUBLE, Chicago, Illinois has long been a bastion of rock and metal largely bereft of the accoutrements that hold many of its counterpart local and regional scenes in check. No checklist here; that got rolled up and smoked long ago, a PBR can used for a pipe sitting in the front seat of someone’s car before clocking in for work for a double shift at some thankless blue-collar job. What matters is the riff, brethren and sisters! The sound of the drums. When the music hits you right in the gut and makes a shitty day a little less shitty.
‘Reptile Dysfunction’ slithers ‘n’ slams, ROKETS and WHO RIDES THE TIGER? Being reference points, the grit and grime of the band’s home environs on proud display. Vocalist/guitarist Stavros Giannopoulos scouring his esophagus and our aural canals in a way Philip H. Anselmo hasn’t since The Great Southern Trendkill, drummer Gary Naples abusing his kit like it said something bad about his girlfriend. Low-slung, like a dirtier QUICKSAND, ‘Abrupt Violence’ continues the ass-whuppin’ in fine fashion, while ‘You Seem So Damn Sure’ obliterates from the start. Elements of the Cleveland/Akron, OH dirt rock sound abound in the sound of MOTHERLESS, that same ruthless Rust Belt aggression that winds through Pittsburgh and Detroit.
Conversely, ‘Darling You Don’t Look Well’ drones at the start, before a militant marching cadence begins, bassist Alex Klein wringing savagery from his instrument, lead guitarist/background vocalist Anthony Cwan’s loose-stringed (what you stringing your guitar with, sir, piano wire?) assault almost percussive, a riff made of early PRONG’s wet dreams.
After a d-beat flogging in ‘Weaponized Goodwill’, moments of ISIS arrive for ‘Christian Math’, losing none of the rawness that’s come before.
A double-shot of ‘Insect Politics’ and ‘The New Romance’ finishes up Do You Feel Safe?, leaving us with the sense that no, in fact, we do not feel safe while bands like this are roaming the landscape of rock and roll today. And that’s just how MOTHERLESS want it.
Review By: Lord Randall
MOTHERLESS
Do You Feel Safe?
Independent