Published on Dec 22, 2000
It’s been some time since we heard from Canadian industrial
rockers Fueled By Ignorance, who last appeared here in February
1999 with their debut CD
Tears. I went back and read the review I wrote for that CD,
and compared notes to what I heard on the group’s latest release
Widow. (Memo to vocalist Simon Springer: Man, so sorry it’s
taking me this long to get to the disc. My bad.)
With a solidified lineup (bassist Jay Christopherson, who
replaced the late Todd Wickstrom, is the only change in the band
from
Tears) and a more focused approach to the music, Fueled By
Ignorance take the power and angst that bands such as Marilyn
Manson and Nine Inch Nails once embodied (before they realized it
was cool to be miserable and then overproduced to the hilt) and
knock out a pretty good effort.
I complained about this before, and I’m gonna complain about it
again with
Widow: this disc is too goddamned short! Especially when you
take into effect that the listener really finds themselves getting
into the groove that the band – Christopherson, Springer, guitarist
Adrian Castley and drummer Shawn Gairdner – lay down, it feels like
the rug is being yanked away far too soon.
The only other suggestion I’d make to the band (that is, before
we get on to the praise) would be this: don’t put all your faith in
the E major chord. I like crunch, to be sure, but I also like
variety, and it often seemed like I was staring down E chord after
E chord in the songs. Just a suggestion.
All griping and nit-picking aside,
Widow features some very good industrial-laden metal which
should make fans of the genre wonder why some label hasn’t picked
up the phone and taken a chance on these guys yet. (From everything
I’ve been reading, they’ve been getting some good breaks… just
not
the break yet.) Songs like “In The Dusk Of December,” “Told
You Twice” and the title track all suggest that this group has
grown into their shoes well in the past two years, and could be
primed to make a big noise for themselves.
Widow is proof that a band can go through some of the
hardest times and still make a strong recorded effort. Maybe, if
things go right for everyone, the next time we hear from Fueled By
Ignorance they’ll be sending me their major label debut… and it
will be a full-length effort.