BLACK MAGNET
BLACK MAGNET “Body Prophecy”
By Dr. Abner Mality
I get a heavy “Tetsuo: The Iron Man” vibe from this slab of industrial insanity. The striking cover image sure seems to back that up...it’s a wild one! Industrial metal, when done correctly, has always been a favorite subgenre of mine, so let’s see what this outfit from Oklahoma City has got cooking.
One thing’s for sure, you’re not going to hear the same song played over and over again here. BLACK MAGNET like to mix things up and “Body Prophecy” has songs ranging from mountain-crumbling metal sludge ala GODFLESH to spooky post-punk to more danceable electro-sounds in the style of SKINNY PUPPY and even NINE INCH NAILS. It’s a smorgasbord of industrial styles that doesn’t stay in one place for too long.
“A History of Drowning” is thick and ponderous drone, heavy with both guitar and synth and featuring almost monk-like chants. “Violent Mechanix” (apologies to Dave Mustaine) is fast, thrashy and to the point while “Floating In Nothing” has a robotic beat and SKINNY PUPPY/FRONT LINE ASSEMBLY overtones. “Incubate” kind of slinks along in NIN fashion...no less than GODFLESH/JESU mastermind Justin Broadrick does a remix of it to end the album.
The range extends from the ghostly ambiance of “Sold Me Sad” to the almost pure grinding noise of “Dowsing” and hits everything in between. Does BLACK MAGNET actually have their own sound? That’s debatable, but they certainly show their mastery of just about every facet of the industrial metal genre. I found this album listenable from start to finish and heavy enough to satisfy a lot of metalheads.