Published on Sep 30, 1998
In the world of industrial rock, it’s one thing to act out the
persona of the raging madman in the music and on stage. For Drown,
I seriously think that their ravings are no act.
Drown’s second album,
Product Of A Two Faced World, starts off as solid but
typical rock with an industrial bend to it, but by the time you hit
the end of the album and the obligatory hidden track, the music
turns into a form of primal scream therapy for vocalist Lauren and
crew – and I defy any parent to listen to parts of this and not be
frightened. More on that later.
Musically, Drown satisfies quite well. If there are keyboards
used on
Product Of A Two Faced World, they are used with incredible
moderation. Instead, the natural power of guitarist Patrick Sprawl,
bassist Sean E. Demott and drummer Marco Forcone is allowed to
power the twelve listed songs on the disc to their sonic limits.
Lauren, who sounds a bit like Trent Reznor when he’s screaming,
proves he’s a capable vocalist on several occasions; he is more
than able to carry a tune on his own.
If you just gave the first half of
Product Of A Two Faced World a cursory listen, you would
probably brush off titles like “You Never Listened” and “Tired Of
Living Like This” as typical gloom-and-doom industrial where misery
is king. But the lyrical content of this album – especially towards
the end in songs like “Two Faced You” and “Monster” – demonstrates
that this misery sounds like it’s been lived. Lauren launches into
a vitriolic attack of his parents, especially his father – and I
have no reason to believe that this hatred he’s screaming about is
an act.
More disturbing is the hidden track, which is backed with what
appear to be comments that Lauren’s parents have made to him in his
past. This, frankly, should scare the shit out of any parent who
has said anything condescending to their children. The scars are
there, they’re real – and they’re still red and raw, in the case
here. (How disturbing is this? Honestly, I don’t think I could
listen to that track again – and it’s not often I say things like
that.)
Product Of A Two Faced World might seem like it’s too much
of a downer to enjoy, but if you just listen to the album for the
music and not the venom, then Drown does quite well, keeping the
listener’s interest early and often. Tracks like “Kerosene,” “My
Private War” and “The Day I Walked Away” all are some very powerful
industrial rock, ranking among the better that I’ve heard this
year.
Product Of A Two-Faced World is an album that should shock
you as well as entertain you. It certainly does both, though the
horrors of life that are re-lived on this disc might be too much
for some people to take.